SHILLONG, Dec 17? Members of Meghalaya Assembly today presented opposing views on the 32 year-old state reservation policy which is under tremendous pressures for a thorough review by various social organizations, student bodies and political parties.
The present policy, which provides for job reservation of 40 per cent to the Khasi and Jaintia tribes, another 40 per cent to the Garos, five per cent to other scheduled tribes leaving the balance 15 per cent to the general categories, has been in force since 1972 when Meghalaya attained full statehood. The policy also provides for quotas in seats in educational institutions in the same ratio.
Moving a private member?s motion in the on-going winter session of the Meghalaya Assembly here today, PT Sawkmie , a ruling MDA coalition member, pleaded for increasing the quota of reservation for the Khasi-Jaintia community to 50 per cent from the present 40 per cent. Though he did not spell out wherefrom it would come, it was obvious he wanted the 15 per cent reservation for general categories culled to only five per cent.
?Let Garos retain the 40 per cent reservation but from the balance 60 per cent the Khasi-Jaintia tribes should be given 50 per cent?, he said. He regretted ?The issue is complex and has been pending for long with successive governments. The government should first diagnose the problem before trying to resolve the matter within a definite time-frame.?
Sawkmie, who is also Co-Chairman of State Planning Board, suggested that the house adopt a resolution to ensure 100 per cent reservation in Central government offices and organizations in Meghalaya. ?At present, outsiders snatch even fourth grade jobs in these offices depriving the local unemployed youths.?
In a diametrically opposite view, Congress member and former Home Minister R G Lyngdoh while supporting the demand for review, pleaded that the reservation should be on the basis of economic status giving leverage to the economically weaker sections rather than on communal basis. ?It is a highly emotive issue and even political parties have tried to gain mileage by swaying the sentiments of the people. Emotions run very high because the people run after declining jobs and quotas.?
Putting the issue in the right perspective, he said ?The reservation policy cannot create more jobs and quotas. What we need is to educate the people to look for alternate sources of jobs and quotas. What we have achieved through the policy is only to divide the people along communal lines. ?The intention of the policy is to benefit the weaker sections of the people and that should be the criteria for revision. A revision along such lines would also keep the state united?, the MLA from Laitumkhrah constituency asserted.
Veteran HSPDP MLA, Hopingstone Lyngdoh, forwarded a drastic solution to the problem. Stating that the policy cannot be changed he said the matter has been discussed for the last thirty years and successive governments have failed to do anything about it. ?The only way to resolve the issue is to divide the state into two and part with the Garos. Then there will be no more quarrels between the two communities?, he held while advocating his pet theory of separate hill states for the Garos and a Khasi-Jaintia state.
Opposing the plea for more reservation for the Khasis and Jaintias, Monindra Rava, MLA from Garo Hills, said the two communities were already monopolizing 60.54 per cent of the state government jobs against a reservation of only 40 per cent whereas the Garos comprised only 35.12 per cent and other tribes 4.34 per cent.
?Where is the scope for more reservation for the Khasi-Jaintias ? In other states, reservation is provided for the minorities and not majorities, whereas, it is the reverse in Meghalaya. There is no logic at all for enhanced reservation for the Khasi-Jaintia communities?, he asserted. Rava contended ?The demand is politically motivated. Some political elements are pushing the tender-aged students to agitate over the issue thereby deriving their political motive and divide the people.? BBL.
Chopper victims: Meghalaya Assembly today paid rich tributes to the memories of the September 22 helicopter crash victims including Cabinet Minister Cyprian R Sangma and two sitting and a former legislator. Among the ten killed in the accident were Mawprem MLA Ardhendu Chaudhuri, Songsak MLA Heltone N Marak and former Deputy Speaker Ira R Marak.
Describing the Pawan Hans helicopter crash in Kyrdemkulai as a very tragic incident, Chief Minister Dr D D Lapang said ?It will leave a void in the state which will be difficult to fill.? Participating in the obituary references on the opening day of the Winter session of the house, he stated ?The house will miss the standard and quality of debate set by late Chaudhuri.
The house also mourned the death of former Gujrat Chief Minister Amar Singh Choudhury, Ramachandra Veerappa, oldest sitting parliamentarian from Karnataka and PG Momin, ex-MLA from Meghalaya. Deputy Chief Minister Dr Donkupar Roy termed September 22 as ?a black day in the history of Meghalaya when three effective, vocal and promising leaders were lost for ever.