Meghalaya CM and NPP chief, Conrad K Sangma (Right) alongwith the NPP’s Nagaland unit President, Andrew Ahoto, at the press conference in Dimapur on December 28. (Morung Photo)
Meghalaya CM says ‘Repealing the draconian law, way forward to build trust and confidence’
Morung Express News
Dimapur | December 28
Strong lobbying in Delhi backed up by a congenial security environment, as evidence, was among the key reasons responsible for the removal of the AFSPA in Meghalaya, claimed the Meghalaya Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma.
“We saw that the law and order had really improved, in the sense that there were very minimal incidences taking place in Meghalaya in terms of insurgency. At the same, there was a huge push from the state (Meghalaya) government… Then of course, a lot of lobbying and a lot of persuasion have to be done in Delhi. So all these factors put together had convinced Delhi and we are thankful to the GoI,” said Sangma, who is also the National People’s Party (NPP) chief. He made the comment at a press conference during a stopover in Dimapur on December 28 after attending the Mao Students’ Union’s Makhel Heritage Conclave, in Senapati district, commemorating its 88th anniversary and conference.
Law and order being the prerogative of state governments, he maintained that the state government also plays a very important role. Reiterating his stand on the AFSPA, he said, “It is not a new stand that we took and this is a stand that even our leader the late PA Sangma was very firm about… We strongly feel that this kind of draconian Act does not have place in the kind of society and democracy that we have today in our country.”
According to him, The December 4 and 5 incidents in Oting and Mon town have clearly shown that the AFSPA has only been counterproductive. “We feel that while we are moving in a positive direction in terms of economic development, this particular law is just not going with the broad story of the NE as a whole. Therefore it should be repealed.”
To another query, he responded, “Can we solve everything if AFSPA is not there? We can’t say, but we know for sure that AFSPA is not helping the entire situation.”
“The entire process of finding a solution to the problem, I feel, is not in the right way. It has to go hand in hand with other socio-economic activities, which will build up the overall economic avenues for the people,” he added.
He though maintained that he is not privy to the reasons that have been responsible for extending the AFSPA in Nagaland. Nevertheless, he maintained that the Government of India is giving a lot of focus to the NE region.
On the inquiry committee instituted by the GoI, he said that the NPP has requested that the committee should also look into the broader regional requirement.
Replacing AR unit in Mon
On the Nagaland government’s call for replacing the Assam Rifles unit in Mon, he said that it would not have any real impact at the grassroots level. He said, “For the real impact to be there, we will need to do something with the law (AFSPA) in it itself not just by replacing the people.”
Repealing the AFSPA at this point in time, he added, would be the way forward to build trust and confidence of the people.
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