Shillong, May 17 (PTI) Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma convened a meeting with the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance partners on Thursday to brief them on the roster system of the reservation policy.
Sangma said the government will also be meeting leaders of all political parties on Friday to highlight the roster system and how it works.
“The cabinet members were given a presentation on the roster system (on Wednesday). A few clarifications were made and the cabinet members were satisfied,” Sangma said.
The same presentation will be made to the constituents of the MDA on Thursday and to all political parties the day after, he added.
The chief minister said civil society organisations will be briefed on the roster system in about 10 days.
“The roster and recruitment is a continuous process. The posts have to be kept on filling up. Recruitment will go ahead,” he stated.
Acting on a court order, the state government had last year adopted a roster system, allowing the Garo tribals to benefit from the policy. The policy gave the Garos and the Khasis 40 per cent reservation each.
The opposition Voice of the People’s Party (VPP) with four MLAs on May 12 gave a 48-hour ultimatum to the state government to put on hold all recruitment processes in various government departments until a roster system of the job reservation policy is deliberated upon.
VPP president and MLA Ardent Basaiawmoit said the party will stage a protest on May 19.
“Reservations adopted for the Garos and the Khasis are unfair in the present form. The present policy needs a relook as the population of Khasis consisting of subtribes – Jaintias, Wars, Bhois and Lyngngams is higher than our Garo brothers and sisters,” he stated.