SHILLONG, JULY 31: The opposition Voice of the People Party (VPP) has announced that it will hold a peaceful march to the Meghalaya Secretariat on August 6, warning that it will intensify its agitation if the state government continues to remain indifferent to what it described as pressing public issues. The party also issued a stern warning that it would not tolerate any attempt to sabotage the peaceful programme and would not take responsibility for individuals found creating disturbances during the march.
The decision was taken at the party’s State Executive Committee meeting. Announcing the programme, VPP president Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit said the proposed march would serve as a warning to the government to address the concerns repeatedly raised by the party, including issues affecting students, teachers and the general public.
He said the party had already conducted awareness programmes across different parts of the state to explain the reasons behind the agitation and to mobilise public support. According to him, the march is intended to demonstrate the growing frustration and anger among the people over what the party termed the government’s failure to address key issues.
The VPP president said the party had highlighted ten major issues during its public meetings and expected the government to take serious note of them. He warned that if the government continued with what he described as an indifferent approach, the party would be compelled to intensify its agitation.
Talking to Mediapersons, the VPP President said, “That the government should not take it lightly when we decide undertake this March on the 6th of August. Our intention is not to create any law and order problem, which is why we are saying that the party is going to march is going to be a peaceful March.”
Clarifying the nature of the protest, Basaiawmoit said the party had no intention of storming the Secretariat.
“We are not saying that we are going to storm the main Secretariat. So there’s the difference between storming the main Secretariat, and the peaceful marching towards the main Secretariat,” he added.
He said the objective was to peacefully express public resentment over issues affecting different sections of society and to remind the government of its responsibility to respond to the concerns raised by the people.
The VPP chief also appealed to Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma to remain in Shillong on the day of the protest so that he could witness the participation of people from different walks of life.
“We would also like to request Chief Minister To stay in station (Shillong) So that he can witness the public who would join the march to express the frustration,” The Nongkrem MLA said.
Basaiawmoit said the party would not tolerate any attempt to derail the peaceful programme and made it clear that it would not assume responsibility for any individual found creating disturbances during the march.
Calling on citizens to participate, he appealed to those affected by what he described as the government’s failures to join the protest and send a strong message that the government must remain accountable to the people. He said the march was aimed at compelling the government to respond positively to public concerns and address the issues raised by the party.
