GSU against Congress

SHILLONG, JAN 21: The Garo Students’ Union – Western Zone- (GSU-WZ) threatened to launch a campaign to mobilize people and urge them not to vote for the Congress candidates in the upcoming elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC). The decision was taken after the GHADC failed to remove the present standing counsel of the council.

The union has been opposing the appointment of a standing counsel who is not a Garo and been demanding that an indigenous Garo advocate should instead be appointed.   GSU-WZ president Jappindro M Marak said in a statement on Tuesday, “We have decided to organize meetings in all the districts and constituencies to mobilize the people not to vote for the Congress candidates in the coming district council elections,”

Marak said the union will campaign strongly against any candidates who favour the non-tribal as the standing counsel of the GHADC. He said, “We will teach lesson to few politicians who favour non-tribal for the posts in the coming election.”

Stating that the union is not against non-tribal advocates, Marak said their concern is that the right and privilege of the indigenous people should be protected thereby giving first preference to the local tribal advocate as it is their right and privilege to be appointed as standing council for GHADC and not a non-indigenous one.

Castigating the failure of GHADC to remove the standing counsel, the GSU said that the present chief executive member (CEM) and all MDCs of the GHADC belongs to the ruling Congress and does not know the purpose of creation of the council and meaning of the sixth schedule.

Marak also alleged that the CEM is scared to remove the standing counsel as he is being controlled by him.- By Our Reporter