Three weeks on from when protesting contractual teachers were tear-gassed by police in the heart of the city, the government has still yet to receive a report into the matter, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said today.
On October 6, police had used tear gas to disperse protesting teachers who were marching, without requisite permission, on the Secretariat to demand their reinstatement after having lost their jobs last year.
Today, Sangma touted his government’s record for not resorting to violence and for willing to meet all those with a grievance. Under this government, Meghalaya has had several teacher protests, covering SSA, ad hoc and now contractual. Graver protests have even turned into riots, such as those in 2018 against the Sweepers Colony, in 2019-20 against the Citizenship Amendment Act and in 2021 following the killing of militant Cheristerfield Thangkhiew.
“I believe that dialogue is the best way to move forward and that’s the reason I myself always meet everybody,” Sangma said.
With regard to the October 6 incident, the CM said that, had the teachers acquired permission to march first, the situation would probably have been handled better. But because the march took the authorities by surprise, there were not enough women police personnel on hand to handle the female protestors and police felt that tear gas would be the simplest way to disperse the crowd without resorting to violence.
“So these kinds of complications came up. I guess if proper communication in terms of permissions were given, then I think the system would have been much smoother,” Sangma said, adding that what is most important is that serious injuries were avoided.
Meanwhile, Sangma deflected criticism from the opposition Congress Party that his is a government of inquiries and committees.
Turning the charge into a compliment, the CM said that his government’s willingness to hold inquiries show that it is transparent.
