Amid mounting tension and unrest in the Garo Hills region, a delegation of the Meghalaya unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday urged C. H. Vijayashankar to convene a special session of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council so that rules could be amended to mandate that anyone contesting as a Member of District Council (MDC) from Garo Hills must possess a Scheduled Tribe certificate. The request was placed during a meeting with the Governor at Lok Bhawan in Shillong, with the party asserting that the Governor is constitutionally authorised to convene such a session to address the issue and help restore normalcy in the region.
The delegation, led by Meghalaya BJP president Rikman G. Momin and senior BJP legislator A. L. Hek, apprised the Governor of the recent incidents reported from the Garo Hills, particularly in Tura, where tensions have escalated amid the controversy surrounding eligibility and nomination for the council elections.
Speaking after the meeting, BJP spokesperson M. Kharkrang said the delegation had highlighted the developments in the region and urged immediate intervention through constitutional means.
“The delegation of state BJP is led by its president Rikman G Momin and senior BJP Legislator AL Hek met the governor to impress upon him the unfortunate incidents that happened in Garo Hills in general and in Tura town in particular and we have discussed with him the reasons behind the incidents that has happened. We have also requested the governor to convene a special session of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council whereby he is authorised by the constitution so that issue of amending the rules can be taken up that anyone who wants to contest as an MDC from Garo Hills should have a schedule tribe certificate. We requested the governor also to take up the issue at the earliest, so that normalcy and peace prevails in Garo Hills.”
Kharkrang said the Governor maintained a neutral position during the meeting and indicated that the matter would be examined with the help of legal experts before any decision is taken.
“Governor has not indicated any views he has taken a neutral view and he will consult legal experts and subsequently take up the decision.”
He further questioned the timing of the notification that triggered the controversy, suggesting that the issue could have been addressed much earlier rather than emerging on the eve of the elections.
“Unfortunate incidents has happened, the way that the notification was issued and subsequently it didn’t stand the legal scrutiny, these things could have been taken up earlier but taking up just before elections raises lot of questions.”
The BJP maintained that convening a special session of the council to amend the rules would help bring clarity to the eligibility criteria and contribute towards restoring peace and normalcy across the Garo Hills region.
