Meghalaya: Garo Hills groups take offence to DGP’s ‘bid on CM’s life’ statement, seeks answers on CM’s security cover

In the wake of the recent attack on the Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma in Garo Hills, several major NGOs and pressure groups have sought answers regarding the level of security protection provided to the head of state during the incident.

On July 24, mobs attacked the mini secretariat where the Chief Minister was holding talks with another protest group, resulting in a close call for the state’s leader.

The conglomerate of Garo Hills organizations, spearheaded by the Garo Students Union, Federation of Khasi Jaintia And Garo People (FKJGP), A’chik Youth Welfare Organization (AYWO), FAF, Association for Democracy and Empowerment (ADE), and Tura Govt College Students Union, took huge offence to the statement made by Meghalaya police chief DGP L R Bishnoi.

The DGP had said that the attack was to cause physical harm to the CM and they would have even gone to the extent of murdering the CM.

Addressing the media in Tura on Friday night, FKJGP president Pritam Marak stated, “The DGP’s statement has given the world the impression that the entire Garo Hills and its people wanted to assassinate the Chief Minister, which is not true. The first thing everyone needs to know is why did the security apparatus for the Chief Minister fail and who made changes to the venue of the talks to be shifted?”

Marak further expressed concerns about the implications of the DGP’s statement, stating that it has negatively impacted the image of the entire Garo community.

The conglomerate leaders demanded to know why the proposed meeting with the agitating bodies had its venue shifted from the Tura Circuit house to the venue of the hunger strike, where supporters were already agitated and angry due to delays in reaching out to them.

“The original meeting between the Chief Minister and the NGOs was actually supposed to be at the circuit house. We had also received an invitation in this regard. But surprisingly, we later came to know that the CM had gone to the venue where the protestors were agitating. Why was this done and who decided on shifting the talks venue leading to the violent situation that unfolded subsequently?” asked the leaders of the conglomerate.

Pritam Marak further questioned the intelligence failure of the police to anticipate the potential for violence, given that the crowd was already agitated due to their perception that the Chief Minister was not addressing their demands. He raised concerns about allowing the Chief Minister to visit an agitation venue where a large and potentially aggressive crowd had gathered.

The situation escalated into violence with stone pelting and vehicles being set on fire. Marak expressed apprehension that this incident could be a part of a deliberate effort to destabilize the region, pointing to similar agitations in other states of the northeast.

Amidst the ongoing agitation, the Garo leaders emphasized that the demand for a second capital in the state was a long-pending issue and a gentleman’s agreement reached by the founding fathers of the state during its formation in the early 1970s. They appealed to the Khasi people to understand the significance of this demand and its historical context.

“The demand for a winter capital was a gentleman’s agreement done by our founding fathers of the state. We would like to appeal to the Khasi people to understand that the majority of Garo people are only seeking what was rightfully agreed upon by our founding fathers,” stated the Garo leaders of these organizations in a united voice while recalling history during formation of the hill state in the early 1970s,” said Pritam Marak

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