NGOs to defy agitation ban ~ About Meghalaya

Shillong, Jan. 19 : Pressure groups in Meghalaya will defy the state cabinet’s decision to ban bandhs and agitation programmes.

The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) today said it would not cow down to the cabinet’s move to ban agitation programmes in the state.

KSU general secretary Hamlet Dohling said the decision of the government was not acceptable to the union.

“We will agitate against the wrong decisions of the government, come what may,” Dohling said.

Banking on both the Supreme Court and the recent Gauhati High Court orders banning bandhs, the state cabinet on January 15 decided to adopt the orders and even brought the media within the ambit of court verdicts.

However, Dohling said the government’s move was “vindictive and smacked of an ulterior motive”.

“We respect the verdict of the courts, but the manner in which the Meghalaya government is going to implement the same is vindictive,” Dohling said. “The union will not keep quiet if the government continues to carry out the wrong doings.”

The pressure groups in the state were critical of the move to mine uranium and the hurried decision of the cabinet before Christmas to hand over power projects to private companies.

Michael Syiem, the chairman of a local NGO, Maitshaphrang Movement, pointed out that it was only when the pressure groups resort to protests, the government wakes up to address the grievances of the people.

“If we just submit a memorandum to the government to air our grievances on any burning issue, very often the government does not pay heed to them,” he said.

Emlang Lyttan, the president of the Federation of Khasi-Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP), said it would not adhere to the suppressive rule of the Congress-led government in the state.

According to the FKJGP, the cabinet’s decision to put a blanket ban on agitation was a very bad sign for the people who believe in democracy.

“We are not afraid of this and will not back out from our agitation programmes against the wrong policies of the government,” Lyttan said.

The federation also condemned the decision of the government to put restrictions on the media from publicising news related to bandhs and other forms of agitation.

“It appears that the government wants to have free hands to implement the policies according to their whims and fancies,” Lyttan pointed out.

Agnes Kharshiing, the chairperson of the Steering Committee against Murder of Democracy, which took up the controversial May 31 jailbreak issue, said protests against bad governance was legitimate and in accordance with the Constitution.