SHILLONG, JULY 18: The lone Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) legislator from North Shillong Adelbert Nongrum on Monday said he is ready to join the BJP if the government at the Centre implements the Inner Line Permit (ILP) and full exempts Meghalaya from the purview of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
This comes a day after Nongrum announced his decision to quit the KHNAM and join other political parties for seeking re-election in 2023.
“If the BJP is serious and is ready to implement and address the issues (put forth by me), I am ready to join the BJP,” Nongrum told reporters.
He said one of the main issues is ILP. “The BJP should use the same method they did with Manipur for implementation of ILP in Meghalaya,” he said adding “secondly, they should immediately demarcate the boundary between Meghalaya and Assam. Assam in the name of development is capturing land and are harassing the people residing along the inter-state border. Therefore, I also urge the MLAs to give more developments to these areas.”
“If the BJP wants to take me, please fulfill all these issues,” he said while demanding the Centre to fully exempt Meghalaya from the purview of the CAA.
Infighting in KHNAM
When asked, Nongrum said the infighting within the KHNAM had left him with no option but to quit the party in order to pave the way for them to lead the party the way they want to.
“I have been patiently waiting for so long. I am the lone MLA. In fact, they should respect me. I never go against the principles of the party except to fight for the cause of the state. I have decided to quit to pave the way for them to lead KHNAM peacefully,” he said.
“Accordingly, I have offered myself to any political party that whoever wants to accept me they also have to accept my principles and the issues concerning the people and the state,” he added.
Outdated state reservation policy
Nongrum further asserted the need to review the “outdated” state reservation policy.
“The state reservation policy is outdated. Therefore, it needs to be reviewed and revamped,” he said.
Stating that he is not only concerned about the Khasis but also for the Garos, the MLA said the existing reservation policy is affecting the state and its people.
“We need to delete, amend, or omit the carry over which affects only one community and the other is we need to bifurcate academics from job as reservation policy it is meant for job,” he said.
