Shillong, Mar 14: Former UDP general secretary Jemino Mawthoh has attributed the current problem surrounding the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) that allowed non-tribal participation in elections, to years of neglect.
“This is a decades old problem because past governments and ECs didn’t take initiative to resolve it,” Mawthoh told HP.
Stating that while the present government faces significant challenges, he said it is crucial to recognise the roots of the issue extend far beyond current leadership. “We can’t just blame the present government; past ECs also didn’t address this properly,” he said
He questioned why the essential changes to the autonomous district rules have not been made and emphasised the need to examine the issue from a legal and constitutional perspective, prioritising indigenous rights and interests.
Mawthoh said the district council and the Sixth Schedule are designed to protect indigenous rights and hence the leadership should primarily reflect indigenous interests.
He criticized the historical inaction of previous leaders, stating, “They have been ‘sleeping’ on the issue,” and called for a legal and constitutional examination of the challenges at hand.
