By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 6: The state government on Wednesday indicated that there was no major disagreement from political parties over the findings of the Expert Committee on the State Reservation Policy during an all-party meeting convened to discuss the contentious issue. All recognised political parties attended the meeting except the VPP.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Commissioner and Secretary of the Personnel and AR Department, Cyril V.D. Diengdoh, said most political parties accepted the presentation made by the government on the committee’s findings and recommendations, though he refrained from disclosing the stand taken by individual parties.
Diengdoh said the report had earlier been tabled in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly on February 18, 2026, following which Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma had assured the House that all political parties would be consulted on the matter.
He said the meeting focused on presenting the main findings and recommendations of the committee, along with the legal and constitutional aspects linked to the reservation policy.
Describing it as a massive report, Diengdoh said only the key findings could be presented during the one-hour interaction with political parties.
According to him, the Chief Minister also directed that copies of the report be provided to all political parties for further study and consultation.
On the possibility of further meetings, Diengdoh said there may not be a need for another all-party discussion since almost all political parties attended the meeting. However, he said parties were free to submit additional suggestions after going through the report in detail.
BJP, Congress back status quo
The BJP and Congress on Wednesday signalled support for maintaining the existing reservation policy in Meghalaya after attending the all-party meeting convened by Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma to discuss the findings and recommendations of the Expert Committee on the State Reservation Policy.
Speaking after the meeting, BJP chief spokesperson Mariahom Kharkrang said the party was satisfied with the findings of the committee and maintained that the BJP had consistently supported retaining the status quo.
Kharkrang said the party was apprised of the report of the commission during the meeting and noted that the committee’s conclusions were broadly in line with what the BJP had maintained from the very beginning.
According to him, the BJP believed that there was no need to tinker with the reservation policy at this stage since it had functioned effectively over the past 50 years. He said the report submitted by the commission reflected the same approach and added that the party was satisfied with the outcome.
Congress leader Manuel Badwar also struck a similar note, stating that the Chief Minister had convened the meeting to brief political parties on the findings and recommendations of the expert committee formed to study the reservation policy.
Describing the interaction as candid, Badwar said the Chief Minister had taken the issue seriously and that the Congress respected the exercise undertaken by the government.
He maintained that the reservation policy had worked well for the past five decades and there was no need to “shake the hornets’ nest” over the issue. He further said that as responsible citizens and political stakeholders, parties needed to examine the matter carefully.
Badwar said the expert committee had prepared a comprehensive report, though the Congress had not yet studied it in detail due to its length. He said the party would examine the report in the coming days and may raise certain points later, depending on internal discussions within the party.
Opposition TMC leader and Ampati MLA Miani D. Shira said the party had received the committee’s findings and presentation but would reserve its comments for the time being.
She said the report would first be discussed internally at the party level and only after those deliberations would the TMC announce its official stand on the issue.
Several other political parties, including the HSPDP, declined to comment immediately after the meeting.
