TURA, July 28: Major social and pressure groups across Garo Hills are demanding answers as to how the state’s chief minister was not provided the level of protection deemed necessary for the head of state resulting in a close shave when mobs attacked the mini secretariat he was inside holding talks with another protest group over their demands on July 24th evening.
A conglomerate of Garo Hills organizations, led by the Garo Students Union, FKJGP, AYWO, FAF, ADE and Tura govt College Students Union have taken offence to the statement of Meghalaya police chief DGP L R Bishnoi that there was an attempt to assassinate the chief minister in Garo Hills.
“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?” demanded to know FKJGP president Pritam Marak while addressing the media in Tura on Friday night after a threadbare discussion on the incident by leaders of the conglomerate.
“The statement of the DGP (Bishnoi) can have a lot of implications, not necessarily positive. The world is buying into the narrative that the people of Garo Hills have attempted to assassinate the chief minister of Meghalaya. This has dented the image of the entire Garo people,” said Pritam Marak.
The million dollar question being asked by these Garo organizations is as to why the venue of the proposed meeting with the agitating bodies was shifted from the Tura Circuit house to the venue of the hunger strike where supporters of the two week long hunger strike were already annoyed and angry for the delay to reach 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 of Garo organizations.
The FKJGP’s Pritam Marak further questioned as to why police failed in their intelligence to anticipate the worst given that the crowd had already been agitated believing that the chief minister was not fulfilling their demands.
“Can the security in-charge allow a chief minister to go to an agitation venue where a huge crowd has gathered, especially when it can get aggressive?” said Pritam Marak as the organizations demanded answers.
He pointed out that police should have anticipated and prepared for any eventuality as there were a few instigators as evident from videos at the venue and the gathering turned violent leading to stone pelting and burning of vehicles.
He further said that there is apprehension that this could just be the tip of the iceberg and can be a deliberate effort to destabilize the region.
“We cannot rule that out because even before this demand and agitation had started in Garo Hills, there was a similar agitation in Shillong where our respected MLA (Ardent) was doing the same kind of demonstration. There are patterns everywhere, in many states of the north east and it can be a deliberate effort to destabilize the region,” said Pritam Marak.
He also pointed out that the agitation has showcased to the entire country and the region the long pending demand for a second capital in the state.
“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.
