The Garoland State Movement Committee (GSMC) has castigated former Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh for his recent remarks against a speech by the late Purno A Sangma, former CM of Meghalaya and once Lok Sabha Speaker.
It was on March 31 that Biren referred to a speech in Parliament by Purno in favour of smaller states in the North East and called it a dangerous idea that threatened the unity of the country.
Understandably, that remark received a lot of opprobrium in Meghalaya and today the GSMC joined the bandwagon of condemnation.
The group said that Purno “demanded smaller states for the betterment of the citizens to bring administration closer to the people, not on ethnic lines.”
It added that Biren’s comments were “baseless and narrow-minded”, “very shameful” and have “denigrated the tribals”.
The GSMC demanded an apology from Biren, who it blamed for not stopping or preventing the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur that has claimed more than 250 lives since 2023.
It add that it has been pushing for a separate Garo state since 2012 and that many have sacrificed their lives for the cause going back to the colonial era.
