SHILLONG, DEC 8: Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) on Tuesday said most of the political parties, including ruling Congress, have avoided raising the job reservation policy issue because of fear that it will affect their “vote-bank”.
“No one dares to raise this issue because they fear that it will affect their vote bank. This long pending and neglected issue, which has affected almost each and every household, was compromised by many political parties just for the sake of political mileage,” KHNAM vice president Adelbert Nongrum told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday.
The KHNAM leader was reacting to the recent statement made by chief minister Mukul Sangma that the party’s move to demand reviewing of the Meghalaya Job Reservation Policy was a mere ‘political posturing’.
Sangma had also stated, “It seems some of the political parties when they do not whip up certain issues are afraid that they will be forgotten by people.”
“We condemned the chief minister’s unfounded allegations because the KHNAM had raised this issue not for popularity but fighting for our own identity,” Nongrum said.
Stating that let the people of the state judge this particular issue, Nongrum said, “Because we don’t really need the chief minister to give us any kind of certificate.”
Attacking on the poor performance of the Congress in the just concluded Nongstoin bye-election and also the GHADC elections this year, Nongrum said, “The results of these elections is a clear message from the people of what is the Congress, who is the chief minister and who are his followers,” adding “The people have given a befitting reply to the present Congress government’s anti-custom.”
Nongrum, however, said, “At the end of the day whether we lose or win it don’t matter because the KHNAM is not just a political party but more of a political movement and it will continue to raise issue concerning the people.”
According to the party, the issue related to the demand for reviewing the job reservation policy is also very much part of the party’s manifesto since 2003.
The KHNAM State Youth Wing Thomas Passah castigated the chief minister’s alleged casual attitude towards this issue affecting all the tribes in the state. “We are rather shocked at the casual attitude of the chief minister on this issue which was pending for the past 43 years when we expected him to be serious about it,” Passah said.-By Our Reporter
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