Meghalaya: Cong MLA Saleng Sangma blames Conrad govt for non-inclusion of Khasi and Garo languages in 8th schedule

Saleng said that Meghalaya’s demand for the languages’ inclusion should have been straight-forward since it is a public bill

Meghalaya Congress legislator from Garo Hills, Saleng A Sangma on Sunday blamed the Conrad Sangma-led NPP government for the non-inclusion of Khasi and Garo languages yet in the 8th schedule of the Indian constitution.

Speaking to Northeast Live the MLA said,
“When the resolution has been taken at the floor of the house it’s the duty of the government to pursue the matter. Now if the cabinet and the Chief Minister are not concerned about it then all the blame must go to them and not to the public.”

He added,“Once the resolution is taken in the house, it has become a public bill, no NGO is needed to pursue the matter wether it be Khasi Literature Society or Garo Literature society, so they should know how to handle it. The matter should be pursued by the Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues.”

There are a lot of other languages that are being pushed to be included in the 8th schedule but in Meghalaya’s case it is a government bill which is there. This is not case matter for other states, hence Meghalaya’s case for inclusion is much stronger.

It may be mentioned here that in September 2018, the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly passed a resolution urging the Central Government to include both Garo and Khasi languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. The 8th Schedule of the Constitution deals with the official languages of India. Currently there are 22 languages recognized in the 8th Schedule.

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