Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Monday said that the government is still pursuing with the Centre for immediate inclusion of Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule.
Sangma in his reply in the Assembly said, “It is a continuous process and we are pushing from our side…and we are continuously pursuing the matter.”
He said the resolution for inclusion of the Khasi and Garo languages was passed in 2018.
He informed, “About eight letters have been sent to Government of India. Government of India (in its reply to the state) says that there is no specific or fix criteria for inclusion.”
He said there has been no clarification or details that have come from the Government of India in regards to the reasons for the delay in the inclusion of the two languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India.
Stating that it was the MDA-1 government, which had taken a strong step to pass a resolution in December, 2018 and said, “This was right at the beginning (of our term) and it reflects the kind of commitment and working to get the Khasi and Garo languages included in the Eighth Schedule. We have been continuously follow up with the Government of India and also with the home minister Amit Shah.”
He said the strong commitment of the House will ensure that the Ministry of Home Affairs will have to take a decision on the matter.