SHILLONG, MAY 6: Political parties on Wednesday were briefed on the key findings of the Expert Committee on Reservation Policy at an all-party meeting chaired by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, with the government saying parties present raised “no major disagreement” with the panel’s conclusions.
Commissioner & Secretary Cyril VD Diengdoh said the move follows the Chief Minister’s assurance in the Assembly when the report was tabled on February 18, 2026.
“During the course of those proceedings, the chief minister had made a statement in the House that all the political parties will be called to seek their views and their consultations and to present the findings of the report,” he said.
The report, spanning “21 volumes of almost 4,000 pages,” has already been shared with all MLAs, Diengdoh said.
At Wednesday’s meeting, the findings and main recommendations of the committee were presented to the political parties and we had a discussion on the same.
He said Chief Minister Sangma has directed that copies of the report be given to all parties.
While declining to detail individual views, Diengdoh said, “Majority of the political parties looked at the presentation and there was no major disagreement with what the committee has found in the report.”
“They appreciated the fact that the government has called them as the chief minister had said that this will happen,” he said, adding that “if required, further consultations will be held with others.”
All parties attended except the Voice of the People Party.
“They (VPP) have given in writing that they will not be able to attend so you should ask them. We have invited all the political parties but as to why they did not attend, I think that question you have to ask them,” Diengdoh said.
He said the one-hour presentation focused on “the main issues, the legal position, constitutional position, since a lot of the issues dealt with the constitutional law or the legal issues.”
Parties have been asked to study the report in detail and submit further suggestions if needed.
“I don’t think there is a need for any other meeting. Some political parties may give further suggestions after they go through the report,” Diengdoh said.
“All of them greatly appreciated the fact that the government had called them and we had made this presentation to them,” he added.
