Shillong, Aug 23: Progressive citizens’ group Thma U Rangli-Juki (TUR) has come out against the Meghalaya government’s invocation of the Meghalaya Preventive Detention Act (MPDA) in reaction to the violence that accompanied a Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) rally on August 19.
In a release today, TUR said that, while it condemned “the senseless acts of violence, arson and vandalism” during the KSU motorcycle rally in Shillong “and the subsequent fallout resulting in the blockading of entry points between Assam and Meghalaya” it also “unequivocally” denounces the state government’s invocation of the MPDA.
The organisation’s opposition to the MPDA is a longstanding one as TUR feels that it is draconian and a “tool of dangerous state repression.”
The law allows authorities to detain individuals for extended periods without trial to prevent actions prejudicial to public order, security, or the maintenance of supplies and services.
TUR also mentioned the Meghalaya Maintenance of Public Order (MMPO) Act in its release.
“While the perpetrators of violence must be held accountable, TUR strongly rejects the government’s weaponisation of draconian legislations like the MPDA and MMPO to handle political dissent. The use of preventive detention laws is a hallmark of an authoritarian state and the MPDA is nothing but a tool of dangerous state repression,” it said.
The MPDA bypasses due processes guaranteed under the Constitution and is liable to political misuse and abuse, TUR added. The MPDA criminalises dissent and the state government “using this contentious law as intimidation rather than fostering political dialogue only deepens public distrust and worsens civil instability.”
TUR called upon the Meghalaya government to revoke the MPDA and instead initiate transparent, democratic processes to identify and bring to book the perpetrators of violence. “We urge all groups, civil society organizations, and the public to reject hate, exercise utmost restraint, and maintain peaceful co-existence which is possible only through an unwavering adherence to human rights – not in violence on the streets or state terror through draconian laws.”
