Three legislators of the opposition Voice of the People Party (VPP) on Friday took to the street to demand for immediate reinstatement of the terminated officials of the Lokayukta.
The three legislators – Adelbert Nongrum (North Shillong), Brightstarwell Marbaniang (Mawlai) and Heaving Stone Kharpran (Mawryngkneng) – and general secretary and MP candidate Ricky AJ Syngkon were accompanied by members and supporters of the party.
Two of the VPP legislators were stopped infront of the deputy commissioner’s office by magistrates and police from taking a protest march to the main secretariat to prevent any law and order situation during the visit of the union home minister Amit Shah to the state.
A heated argument also led to a minor scuffle between the Mawlai MLA and police personnel. Marbaniang was heard telling the security personnel not to touch him as he is an elected representative.
Earlier, Adelbert Nongrum gave police a slip and managed to stage sit-in-protest infront of the main secretariat but later he was requested to join his party colleagues outside the DC’s office.
Speaking to media persons, VPP spokesperson Batskhem Myrboh said that the party had conducted a thorough study of the Lokayukta Act before deciding to stage the protest.
He said it was after studying the Act that the party found out that the state government had interfered with the functioning of the Lokayukta.
“The party questions those who claimed that the state government had taken decisions according to the act. Please go and read the act properly as according to the act, it does not indicate that those members should be in service or retired but the act indicates that those members should not be below that rank which means that even those retired must not be below that rank when they were in service,” Myrboh said.
He also ask the state government to point out where in the Act , temporary measures has been mentioned.
“The interference by the state government does not only affect those officers but also the Meghalaya Lokayukta as in the future, no officers will be willing to be members of the Lokayukta” he added.
He also demanded the government to give in writing that its decision to remove the retired officials was in accordance with the Act.
“Everyone knows why the state government removed the three officers of the Meghalaya Lokayukta, we do not want to mention but what we want from the state is to reinstate the officers so to instill confidence to the people of the state on the working of the Lokayukta” he added.
+ There are no comments
Add yours