Senior Cabinet Minister and NPP leader Rakkam Sangma on Tuesday said any change in the job reservation policy may lead to very serious legal scrutiny in the eyes of law.
While referring to the Supreme Court’s landmark 1992 judgment on 50 per cent reservation cap, the NPP leader said let the expert committee suggest on what to do with the state Reservation policy because any such change in the number of reserve seats may create great loss to indigenous population.
“To me any change in the job reservation policy may lead to very serious legal scrutiny in the eyes of law,” Sangma said added, “To clear all this doubt let the expert committee suggest and advice to us what is happening, in view of the clear constitutional provision, in view of the clear supreme court judgement of ceiling of 50 percent for any state, I think any changes will call for serious legal scrutiny in the eyes of law.”
“ Let’s do what the expert committee suggests to us but if anything happens it will be a great loss for the indigenous people of our state. Suppose the constitutional provision and the honourable Supreme Court judgement is made to apply tomorrow the ceiling 50 percent reservation, it will be a great loss for all the indigenous people of the state. Let us wait for the government constituted expert committee to suggest to us,” the NPP leader added.
Agreeing to the statement made by the former state president of NPP and Rajya Sabha MP Dr WR Kharlukhi, Rakkam said they have misunderstood the state reservation policy and some political parties have misinterpreted it.
“Yes, to some extent because many have been misunderstood and some political party has been misinterpreted……Yes what our president has said is truly correct,” he added.
The state Government last year formed the Expert Committee on Reservation headed by Justice(Retired) Mool Chand Garg to review the Meghalaya State Reservation Policy of 1972. The government’s decision followed a 10-day hunger strike called by Voice of the People Party supremo Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit in May last year which received widespread support from the citizens in Khasi-Jaintia Hills.