After ten days of hunger strike, Voice of the People Party (VPP) president Ardent M. Basaiawmoit today called off his protest following the notification issued by the State government to constitute an Expert Committee to review the job reservation policy.
Announcing his decision at a large gathering held at his protest site at the Additional Secretariat parking lot here, Basaiawmoit thanked the people for the support to the issue spearheaded by his party.
“This is the victory of the people. Since we have achieved what we demanded for, it is right on my part to call off this indefinite hunger strike,” Basaiawmoit said amid the thunderous applause from the crowd.
“I have completed 221 hours of fasting and I have complete faith in God. He gave me the strength to sustain. Whatever I do is for the benefit of the youth of the State,” he said.
He also maintained that the Expert Committee to review the reservation policy has to be time bound and his party will not allow the committee to delay its recommendations and suffer the fate like other committees set up by the government in the past.
Basaiawmoit also said that the VPP has other fights ahead which included a war against corruption and unnecessary expenditure of public money which has badly affected the State exchequer thereby affecting various sectors in the State.
“We will be writing to the government officially to remove all these chairmen, co-chairmen and consultants which are a financial burden to the State,” he mentioned.
Stating that the VPP will fight against the system of backdoor appointments and nepotism and favouritism in recruitment, Basaiawmoit also said that the party will write to the State government to ensure that politically connected persons are not appointed as member of either Meghalaya Public Service Commission (MPSC) or District Selection Committee (DSC).
