Reservation policy not the most important issues confronting Khasi community, will not address unemployment problem

Shillong, June 5: United Democratic Party (UDP) leader and cabinet minister Paul Lyngdoh has asserted that the state reservation policy is not the most important issues confronting the Khasi indigenous community even as he slammed the Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit-led opposition Voice of the People Party (VPP) for engaging in “political manoeuvring” and trying to incite communal hatred and mayhem in the state.

“I am not saying that it (state reservation policy) is not necessary. All I am saying is that you need to have priorities. It is not the most important issue facing us (as an indigenous community). We have mentioned it in the party’s manifesto,” Lyngdoh told reporters.

Stating that the MDA government has constituted an expert committee to review the reservation policy, the West Shillong legislator said, “The all-party meet is a continuing process and we will come up with the best of solutions but that is when you talk of reservation in isolation.”

“But when you look at it from a wider perspective, unemployment is a major issue in Meghalaya and it is not just unemployment, there is also an issue of unemployability (as) we have many jobs where we are not fit to be employed,” Lyngdoh added.

He said one should ask why in the UPSC exams, Mizoram is getting 4 while Meghalaya only 1 and that too a person from other community while asserting “Whether we have to produce people who will climb at the top of the hierarchy of administration or we have to produce only peons. It depends on you.”

The UDP leader further maintained that reviewing the state reservation policy will not help addressing the unemployment problem in the state and said, “It will never. There are 500 vacancies available with the government and government undertakings in a year and this is a dwindling sector in terms of employment.”

He also pointed out that two years before the end of the first quarter of the 21st century, the state of Meghalaya should be talking more about sectors like tourism, weaving, village tourism, government aided projects and lots of other opportunities.

Stating that the sense of priority is very wrong, Lyngdoh said the real issues confronting the society are drug addiction, single mother families, child malnourishment, infant mortality rate, and landlessness.

“These are the issues that concern us but why they don’t draw a crowd because they do not have that element of instigating hate and that they are not populists and hence they are not popular as issues,” he added.

The UDP leader also alleged that the VPP is not only politicizing the issue of state reservation policy but it is inciting communal hate and also trying to bring mayhem into the society.

Terming the VPP’s protest as political manoeuvring, he said, “You should not be surprised when political parties indulge in political manoeuvring but there should be a line. We have to define that line. We cannot go on eternally blackmailing people emotionally.”