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High time for state to review reservation policy: Meghalaya Congress secretary
Amid efforts to remain relevant in the political ecosystem of the state, the MPCC seems to be unsure of what to tell the public about its stand on the presently burning issue and hot topic of discussion
Friction seems to have arisen within the top echelons of the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), with two senior functionaries of the party expressing diverse views over the party’s stand on the Roster system as well as the State Reservation Policy.
Amid efforts to remain relevant in the political ecosystem of the state, the MPCC seems to be unsure of what to tell the public about its stand on the presently burning issue and hot topic of discussion.
Speaking to media persons on Saturday, MPCC secretary and Mawhati MLA Charles Marngar said, “It is true that the policy is more than 50-year-old and from the party’s side, we understand the problem that arises. We all know that any policy formulated by the government can be reviewed after every 10 years. Therefore, the reservation policy should also be treated like any other policy.”
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Pointing that many states review their policies from time to time, Marngar observed that it is high time for Meghalaya to review the reservation policy, even as he dismissed the notion that the Congress is silent on the issue.
Reminding that the meeting convened by the state government on the roster system on May 19 was attended by MPCC functionaries, Marngar underscored, “The stand of the Congress party on the roster system is that the government should prospectively implement it and not retrospectively.”
Meanwhile, MPCC working president Deborah C. Marak chose to distance herself and the party from such views.
In a communique released from Tura, Marak said, “The Indian National Congress is the oldest political party in the country. We never make hasty decisions. The statement made by the MLA (Charles Marngar) is an individual one and has no connection to the party line. We would like to clarify that no decision or stand has been taken by the party on these issues.”
Informing that a committee within the Congress is being constituted to study and deliberate on these issues so that a collective and conscious decision will be taken by the MPCC shortly, Marak said, “Till such time an official statement from the party is released, we would like to request that every citizen of the state not be swayed by individual comments. After all, the Congress is a mature political party that always takes everyone on board.”
The state government on May 19 held an all-party meeting chaired by chief minister Conrad K Sangma in which leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties were present and constituted a committee headed by Ampareen Lyngdoh, minister of health and family welfare, to address concerns over the roster of the job reservation policy in the state.
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The roster system determines the reservation of posts for different categories. Since 1972, 40% of the state government jobs are reserved for the Garo and Khasi communities each, 5% for other tribes residing in the state, and 15% for the general category.
The current SRP allocates 40% reservation for the Garo community and 40% for the Khasi-Jaintia community.
The opposition Voice of the People Party (VPP) and the Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) have been demanding a relook into the reservation system in the state.
