The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its manifesto for next month’s Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) election, wherein it promised to create a separate electoral roll for the council, a key demand of pressure groups in the region.
The manifesto was released by Meghalaya BJP President Ernest Mawrie at the party office here today.
Currently, non-tribals are allowed to vote and stand for election to the GHADC, unlike in its Khasi and Jaiñtia Hills counterparts (KHADC and JHADC). Pressure groups have been calling for this to end and demanded that political parties not field non-tribal candidates, a demand that few have heeded. The NGOs have also called for a boycott of the April 12 election.
The saffron outfit also promised to transform Garo Hills by abolishing non-scheduled areas and empower the traditional bodies to take up local administration, protecting the interests of the people in the scheduled areas. The BJP also stated that it will authorise the local heads to oversee the resources and minerals available within their jurisdiction.
It also promised that it will cut down the collection of taxes by the state government in scheduled areas and minimise the share given to the Meghalaya government.
