Shillong (Meghalaya) [India], March 12 (HBTV): Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma announced that the state government has decided to postpone the April 10 elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC), citing the prevailing situation in the Garo Hills region and the sentiments of the people.
Sangma said the state government would deliberate further on the way forward regarding the electoral process.
'Keeping the current prevailing situation in Garo Hills right now and keeping the sentiments of the people in mind, the government of Meghalaya has decided to postpone the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council elections. We will sit and decide on how to further take this procedure forward. But till then, the decision has been made to postpone the elections,' Sangma said in a video message.
The announcement comes amid heightened political and security concerns in the Garo Hills region, with the state government prioritising public sentiment and the prevailing situation before proceeding with the electoral process.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong explained that the Autonomous District (AD) rules apply only to the respective district councils, and that there are growing demands in Garo Hills to amend these rules.
'The AD rules apply only to the respective district councils. For Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills and Garo Hills, we have AD rules. But at this juncture, what happened was, in the Garo Hills district council, it seems the aspiration of the public is to amend the rules of the ADC (Autonomous District Council), which has been followed all these years by the people of the Garo Hills sector,' Tynsong told reporters.
Responding to questions on whether the situation reflected a failure of the government, Tynsong rejected the allegation, stating that the district council holds judicial and executive authority.
'You can’t blame the government. Because this is fully the authority of the district council, as I said, they have judicial power and also they have executive power, more or less like the state government or the central government. So you can’t say that the government’s failure is that. They should have had a special session if they already knew it. Why didn’t they discuss the issue? Therefore, even from the government side, we have no role to play. In fact, they’re the leaders. They know where to amend,' Tynsong said.
Authorities confirmed on Tuesday that two people died in West Garo Hills district amid tensions related to the nomination process for the GHADC elections.
The clashes reportedly occurred between tribal and non-tribal groups in connection with the GHADC elections. Following the violence, the district administration imposed a 12-hour curfew under Section 163 of the BNSS in 37 villages across the district.
The elections were originally scheduled to be held on April 10.
(ANI)