The state government lacks a strong enough spine to resist rules, regulations and laws passed by the Centre even if they go against the rights and interest of the indigenous people of Meghalaya, Prof Lakhon Kma, who is standing as an independent candidate for the Shillong Lok Sabha seat, has told Highland Post.
His assessment is that the current state leadership meekly obeys and behaves like puppets with regards to anything directed by Delhi.
In support of this, he pointed to the Citizenship Amendment Act. While state leaders railed against it at the end of 2019 before it was passed in Parliament, Tura MP Agatha K Sangma of the National People’s Party (NPP), sibling of Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, voted for it in the Lok Sabha on the spurious grounds that scheduled areas in Meghalaya would be exempted from purview of the act.
Kma asked how, if the exemption is only in scheduled areas, the law will apply in non-scheduled areas, which cover only a small portion of the state.
“This will only create more complications and how will they classify this? Therefore, if Conrad K Sangma is serious and has the power to negotiate with the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) since they are together (in an alliance), they should ideally have the power to say that the entire Meghalaya is exempted,” he added.
And although the CAA is only meant to grant citizenship to members of specific non-Muslim religions who came to India before 2014, Kma questioned whether this cut-off date will be adhered to since the law requires citizenship applicants to provide very little documentary proof.
On other issues, the professor observed that there is rising financial inequality in the state and country and this gap cannot be reduced if there is no change in politics. Without change, the poor and weak will continue to suffer, he opined.
