Meghalaya: Voice of the People's Party Issues 48-Hour Ultimatum on Reservation Policy

New Delhi: The opposition Voice of the People's Party (VPP) has given the Conrad Sangma-led Meghalaya government 48 hours to respond to their demand for a special session on the reservation policy and roster system, according to news reports.

VPP president, Ardent Basiawmoit, has stated that if the government does not issue a notification halting all government job recruitment processes after the party submitted their petition on Friday, they will hold a protest.

Addressing a public meeting in Shillong on Friday, Basaiawmoit said that his party, with four MLAs, has written to the Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma demanding that a notification in this effect be issued within two days.

Basiawmoit told the EastMojo that the government's reservation policy is problematic as it has not been reserved according to the population structure of the people living in the state. He fears that if the government continues to implement the roster system in its present form and recruit and fill posts, it will create problems for the unemployed youth of the state. he said the party's move was not against the Garo community.

The VPP argued that it would be reasonable to re-evaluate this policy since the Khasi Jaintias currently outnumber the Garos in the population. Nevertheless, earlier this year, the High Court declined to intervene in this matter and permitted the elected government to address the policy concerns.

In a letter to the government, Basiawmoit urged it to halt all ongoing recruitment processes in various government departments until the issue on the reservation policy and roster system is resolved, the East Mojo reported. In addition, he reminded the government that the VPP had requested a special session of the Assembly for MLAs to discuss and resolve the issue.

If the government fails to suspend the recruitment processes, Basiawmoit has called upon his party leaders to take to the streets. The state government had adopted a retrospective roster system last year since 1972, which enabled Garo tribals to benefit from the policy. The policy granted 40% reservation each to the Garos and Khasis.