Over reservation policy VPP chief Ardent began Hunger Strike

Shillong: To pressure the Meghalaya government to review the 1972 reservation policy, opposition Voice of the People’s Party (VPP) chief Ardent Basaiawmoit on Tuesday began an indefinite hunger strike, claiming That it is “unfair and outdated”.

Since 1972, 40 percent of state government jobs have been reserved for Garos and Khasi communities. Another five percent is reserved for other tribes living in the state while the remaining 15 percent is for the general category.
The VPP, with four MLAs in the state’s 60-member assembly, is demanding a review of the policy, asserting that it is unfair to the Khasi tribe, whose population has shifted from the Garo over the years.

“I am on a hunger strike to demand that the state government review the 1972 job reservation policy for tribals in the state. I stand by my decision to fast indefinitely,” the three-time MLA said. Ardent Basaiawmoit told Media.
They are fasting here at a place in front of the state secretariat.

He said that the present policy needs to be revised as the Khasis comprising the sub-tribes of Jaintia, War, Bhois and Lyngngams have a larger population than the Garos.

According to the 2011 census, over 14.1 lakh Khasis live in Meghalaya while the Garo people number a little over 8.21 lakh.
Therefore, this policy is “unfair and outdated”, the VPP president said.

Basaiawmoit, however, said that he was not against the rights of Garos in government jobs and was only demanding a reservation policy in neutral jobs.

Hundreds of supporters, mostly women, are at the protest site to show solidarity with the VPP president. Three other MLAs of the party are also there but they are not fasting.

Security has been beefed up at the site to prevent people from congregating there as it will affect the normal flow of traffic.

A senior official told PTI, “We are keeping a very close watch to ensure that there is no untoward incident.
He said that a team of health professionals had been deputed to monitor the MLA’s health condition.

The Meghalaya government on Friday set up a committee to address concerns over the roster of job reservation policy in the state.
Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said after an all-party meeting on the issue on Friday that it was decided to stop recruitment to government jobs until the panel headed by Health Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh submits its report on the roster.

A roster is an application specifying the reservation of posts in a cadre for various categories with respect to the applicable percentage of reservation.