SHILLONG: Meghalaya health minister Ampareen Lyngdoh, on Friday (May 26), requested president of the Voice of the People Party (VPP) – Ardent Basaiawmoit – to end his “indefinite hunger strike”.
VPP chief Ardent Basaiawmoit has been sitting on an “indefinite hunger strike” at the gates of the main secretariat in Shillong since May 23 over the roster system issue in Meghalaya.
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It may be mentioned here that the VPP leaders in Meghalaya have maintained that discussing the roster system without talks on “roster reservation” would be a waste of time.
Meghalaya health minister Ampareen Lyngdoh visited VPP chief Ardent Basaiawmoit at the site of the protest and urged him to end his “indefinite hunger strike”.
“I came here as a concerned citizen of the state to request Ardent to withdraw his agitation. This is not good for the state. We need to talk,” Meghalaya health minister Ampareen Lyngdoh said.
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The Meghalaya minister added: “I felt it was needed for me to come, so I came. I have done my duty. I have a right to come here to request him to kindly withdraw his agitation.”
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The Meghalaya health minister also expresses concern about the health of VPP chief Ardent Basaiawmoit, owing to the hunger strike that he has been observing for the past three days over the roster reservation policy.
Notably, leaders of the VPP and Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM), on May 19, had staged a walk-out from an all-party meeting that was convened to discuss the roster system issue in Meghalaya.
“There is no point discussing about the roster system. It is like putting cart before the horse. Unless we talk about reservation, discussing the roster system is a waste of time,” VPP leader Ricky Syngkon told the media.
Notably, Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma, on May 18, had said that a reservation policy without implementing a roster is meaningless.
The opposition VPP has been demanding that the Meghalaya government modify the reservation policy.
The present policy needs a relook as the population of Khasis consisting of subtribes – Jaintias, Wars, Bhois and Lyngngams – is higher than the Garo people, the VPP claimed.