Shillong, Dec 13: The A·chik Conscious Holistically Integrated Krima (ACHIK) has called the demand for creation of a minority regional council in Garo Hills “politically motivated” stating that the demand is divisive, unconstitutional, and detrimental to the traditional and constitutional rights of the indigenous tribe.
Representatives of the Hajong, Koch, Rabha, Boro, and Mann communities under the Regional Council Demand Committee (RCDC) had recently petitioned Meghalaya Governor Chandrashekhar H Vijayashankar to create a regional council for minority tribes citing constitutional provisions.
ACHIK said Garo Hills already functions under the special provisions of the Sixth Schedule and any attempt to carve out a separate minority regional council within this framework is not only impractical but also a direct challenge to the spirit and purpose of the Sixth Schedule.
Terming the demand “misguided and reckless” the organisation said the actions of the RCDC is designed to create communal tensions aimed at fragmenting the social harmony of the people of Garo Hills.
ACHIK has urged the demand committee to refrain from spreading misinformation and said that such a demand is legally untenable.
