Shillong, Apr 22: The Voice of the People Party (VPP) on Wednesday held a public meeting in Motphran to mobilise support for the party’s eight-point charter of demands against the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance II government.
Speaking at the public meeting, VPP chief Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit slammed the ruling NPP and the Congress for alleging that the VPP was politicising and hijacking the Lumpongdeng issue.
Basaiawmoit said that if the party politicised the Lumpongdeng island issue, then the VPP would have to revoke the name of Batskhem Myrboh as the Shillong MP candidate for the Lok Sabha by-poll since the Green Tech Foundation which spearheaded the movement won the battle against the government.
“We also did not hijack the movement as said by a member of the Congress,” he said.
Basaiawmoit said that when the members of the Green Tech Foundation started their indefinite hunger strike the government did not pay heed when their health conditions deteriorated and the VPP was not satisfied to see the youths go through such a difficult situation.
He asked “Whether those who are saying that the VPP was politicizing the issue are content to see the youths die,” he said.
He said that the party had sent a letter to the state government in 2024, on the Lumpongdeng issue but the government never invited the VPP for discussions.
He said that the claims of the government that the luxury hotels will give jobs to the youths of the state is wrong since the locals are only employed in low rung works in the existing five-star hotels in the state.
The VPP chief also said that the party is opposed to the government giving a 60 years lease to a private entity for building the five-star hotel.
The VPP president also took a dig at the state government for stating that the report of the Expert Committee on the State Reservation Committee was a “heavy” document.
“It is the first time that the report of a committee was measured in kilograms. It is only the MDA government which is measuring the recommendations of the committee,” Basaiawmoit said.
Basaiawmoit said that the people of the state want to know who “Badri Rai” is.
He alleged that this person has accumulated maximum projects in the state adding that from his vehicle around Rs 1 crore was recovered during the NPP’s election campaign in Arunachal Pradesh.
The VPP president said that this individual is carrying out projects under the Ekalavya Schools in Sohryngkham and Mawrapad.
Basaiawmoit has also critiqued the current government policies, beginning with a demand for education reform that would exempt veteran teachers from late-career eligibility tests and the repeal of the Meghalaya Private College Act, 2025, to protect institutional autonomy.
On the administrative front, he called for the complete depoliticisation of recruitment bodies like the MPSC and DSC to eliminate corruption and urged a ban on service extensions for retirees to open up jobs for the youth.
His stance on state resources included a firm call to stop leasing public land to private entities and a demand to halt the expansion of coke and cement plants due to environmental and health risks.
Finally, Basaiawmoit pressured the government to secure the state’s borders and indigenous communities by implementing a strict, transparent process to detect and deport illegal immigrants.
Meanwhile, the VPP also said few citizens from Jaintia Hills region had requested him, despite the ban on coal mining, the activity is going on and if the government cannot stop it, then all should be allowed to mine the mineral.
“We will also indulge in illegal activities that allow only those individuals who are with the government,” Basaiawmoit said.
