Congress Legislature Party leader and Mylliem MLA Ronnie V Lyngdoh has cautioned one and all against politicising the roster system issue, which shows no sign of dissipating.
“I want to say let us not politicise the roster system because you may have short term benefit and a long time effect, which could be detrimental to the future of our youth,” Lyngdoh told Highland Post.
He said any steps taken on the issue should be with a thought for the future generation with a long term benefit in mind. On the other hand, using the issue for political mileage would only lead to short term benefit, which could even be dangerous for the state.
Stating there are states that wanted to increase the reservation quota, he said, “We saw what happened when the court stepped in and said you cannot reserve more than 50 percent.” Meghalaya currently reserves 85 percent of state government jobs for tribals.
The big issue of debate is whether the roster system should be applied retrospectively or prospectively. Lyngdoh said that, as no accurate employee register was maintained in the past, the roster should be applied prospectively.
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma yesterday said that the government will make a presentation on the implementation of the roster system in the state to clear doubts. He said that the roster system is an ongoing process and that there is “nothing called prospective or retrospective” in it.
