Meghalaya: Voice of the People Party stage protest against state reservation policy

The Voice of the People Party (VPP) elected MLAs along with the supporters on Wednesday staged a sit-in demonstration to demand that all recruitment processes be put on hold pending a review of the state reservation policy.

On May 12, VPP chief Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit has given the government 48 hours to put job interviews on hold and threatened to agitate if the government fails to do so. 

On Wednesday, a group of protesters gathered with protesting placards gathered at a parking lot near the Additional Secretariat, Shillong seeking the immediate postponement of the recruitment process.

The Meghalaya government on May 16 decided not to rush into the implementation of the roster system and reservation policy despite pressure from the opposition Voice of the People’s Party (VPP).

Also Read: Meghalaya government to decide on reservation policy, implementation of roster system after due consultation with stakeholders

Even after 48 hours deadline given by the opposition VPP party ended, the Meghalaya government is not rushing and instead will take its own reasonable time to decide on the sensitive issues of reservation and implementation of the roster system in the state.

“This is a matter which is very, very sensitive. We must tread very cautiously. It is fine if the members of the opposition put this pressure on us but we will take our time in deciding how to take this forward,” said Cabinet Minister and government spokesperson Dr M Ampareen Lyngdoh. 

Responding to the VPP's threat to begin their first phase of agitation, they organized a sit-in on Sunday to protest the state government's failure to halt all recruitment processes until the reservation policy and roster system were reviewed within 48 hours.