SHILLONG, MAY 28: The Hynniewtrep Integrated Territorial Organization (HITO) on Tuesday demanded the withdrawal of the recent order which imposed section 144 CrPC in entire district in view of the upcoming counting of votes for the general elections to the 18th Lok Sabha, which will be held on June 4.

In a letter to Deputy Commissioner of East Khasi Hills District SC Sadhu, HITO President Donbok Dkhar said that the order dated May 23, which stated that “No victory procession/rallies by any candidate/political parties after the declaration of result shall be permissible within East Khasi Hills District is entirely in contravention to the citizens’ fundamental rights as envisaged in Article 14 and 19 of the Constitution of India, and other democratic rights of the citizens of the state, and as observed in various decisions of the Supreme Court of India.

Dkhar also pointed out that, “in the present situation, there has been no such incident of violence and the mere apprehension of any such incident is unwarranted and unreasonable, but however, as a result of
the said order dated 23-05-2024, the entire population of East Khasi Hills district is being deprived of their rights to freedom of expression and movement and to carry out peaceful assembly, meetings, rallies, etc. and whereas peaceful protests, rallies, processions, etc are always held without any breach of law and order by various persons, groups, organizations, etc all across the city,” Dkhar said.

“Therefore, in consideration of the above, the undersigned request your good office to relook into the entire matter and withdraw the said order dated 23-05-2024 so that
the democratic rights and aspirations of the innocent citizens are not interfered without any fault on their part,” he stated in the letter.