Shillong, Jul 23: The Voice of the People Party (VPP) has expressed solidarity with protestors gathered at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi over alleged irregularities in the NEET UG examination and questioned the Meghalaya government, particularly Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, on its stand regarding the issue.
VPP spokesperson Airpeace Well Rani today said the opposition party stands with those protesting across the country for transparency in public examinations and for protecting institutions from corruption and political interference.
Members of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government have been conspicuous in their silence on the ongoing protests in New Delhi. This is the case even though the CM was in the position to experience the protests almost first hand. It was on Monday, the opening day of the Parliamentary session, that Conrad Sangma was in Delhi to witness his older brother James PK Sangma, be sworn-in as the new Rajya Sabha MP for Meghalaya.
Neither has commented publicly on the matter of the protests.
According to Rani, for the VPP the protest is not confined to the alleged irregularities in the NEET examination but it is also about protecting public institutions from corruption, nepotism and undue political interference and also safeguarding the interest and future of the youths across the country.
“At the time when the youth are protesting in the national capital – some of them are from Meghalaya – when they are facing police action and atrocities, we expect the Chief Minister and the state government to speak up but, on the contrary, the state government has chosen to maintain silence,” Rani said.
The VPP asked whether this means that the Meghalaya government does not care about the future of the youths or it is not concerned regarding the alleged irregularities or does it mean the state government has become a puppet in the hands of the Centre.
Rani said that these are the same issues affecting the youth of Meghalaya no less than those of the rest of the country. He therefore said that the people of the state deserve to know the stand of the state government on this issue.
Rani also condemned the statement of the youth leader of the BJP, a coalition partner of the Meghalaya government, for allegedly saying that the protestors should be shot. “If this statement is true, it partly reflects the attitude of the government,” he stated.
On the alleged mishandling by police against the protestors who were lathicharged, injuring scores, the VPP spokesperson said that the party stands with them and wishes for their speedy recovery. According to him, the VPP believes that peaceful dissent and constitutional demonstration on genuine issues such as the current one must be met with dialogue, not force.
Rani stated that in Meghalaya the VPP is raising the same kind of concerns where it wants to insulate all institutions that provide public service from political interference. “The issues that we are raising in the state are also resonating with the current protests in Delhi,” the party spokesperson stated.
