Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Thursday slammed the Opposition Voice of the People Party (VPP) for skipping the all-party meeting convened by the government to deliberate on the reservation policy issue. The Chief Minister said he was disappointed that the VPP, which had strongly raised the reservation issue and projected itself as deeply concerned about the matter, chose not to attend the meeting despite having demanded broader discussions on the issue. The Meghalaya government had on Wednesday held a consultation meeting with political parties to discuss the findings of the expert committee constituted to review the state’s reservation policy.
“The expert committee was constituted following demands raised by Opposition parties on the floor of the Assembly,” Sangma said, adding that the all-party meeting was called to deliberate on the report and discuss the future course of action. According to the Chief Minister, all political parties attended the meeting except one party, which later informed the government through a letter that it could not attend because of “other pressing engagements”.
Political leaders, he said must “walk the talk” and demonstrate commitment through actions rather than mere statements. He further said that if political parties truly care about the people and the land, they should show it democratically and constitutionally. Condemning the VPP’s style of raising issues through public mobilization rather than primarily within the Assembly, Sangma underscored the importance of parliamentary democracy and constitutional institutions.