Tura, Oct 18: The on going tussle between the pro ILP groups and the Government is set to continue, with the CM, Dr Mukul Sangma saying that they have amended the Meghalaya Maintenance of Public Order in the last Assembly session to give more teeth to the Government. The CM confirmed that from now on even acts like intimidation or threats would be punishable under law with three years of imprisonment.
Speaking at a function in Ampati after the distribution of PC Tabs to students, the CM said that on the last day of the Assembly they had amended the law to include intimidation. He said that the Supreme Court had put a legal angle to bandhs and barred all forms of bandhs.
While the MMPO includes losses due to arson and destruction of public property, the latest amendment is set to make life a little more difficult for the agitating NGOs. He also said that a petition has been filed on the 15th of the month against the NGOs in the High Court and the NGOs would have to compensate the losses.
The CM has time and again re-iterated that they would not succumb to pressure from pro ILP groups and said they would not agree to the demand for the implementation of ILP within the state. During the same function held at Tura, the CM said, “I have been called a dictator and many other names in the past.
It seems that if you do not bow down to pressure, you are adamant, but if you succumb to it, you are termed a very good politician by the same people. The same has been happening over the past 40 years and look at where it got us? Is this the kind of future we are trying to build for our children”?
The pro ILP groups have indicated that they are willing to carry on the fight for the ILP implementation, while the Government is sure it will not allow laws passed in the 19th century to led the future of the state in the 21st century.(SP News)
