Shillong (Meghalaya) [India], March 12 : Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma announced that the state government has decided to postpone the April 10 elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC), citing the current prevailing situation in Garo Hills and keeping the sentiments of the people in mind.
Sangma said the state government will sit and decide on how to further take the procedure forward.
"Keeping the current prevailing situation in Garo Hills right now and keeping the sentiments of the people in mind, the government of Meghalaya has decided to postpone the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council elections. We will sit and decide on how to further take this procedure forward. But till then, the decision has been made to postpone the elections," Sangma said in a video message.
The announcement comes amid heightened political and security concerns in the Garo Hills region, with the state government prioritising public sentiments and the prevailing situation before proceeding with the electoral process.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong explained that the AD (Autonomous District) rules apply only to the respective district councils, and the aspiration of the public in Garo Hills is to amend these rules.
"The AD (Autonomous District) rules apply only to the respective district councils. For Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills and Garo Hills, we have AD rules. But at this juncture, what happened was, in the Garo Hills district council, it seems the aspiration of the public is to amend the rules of the ADC (Autonomous District Council), which has been followed all these years by the people of the Garo Hills sector," Tynsong told reporters.
When asked if it was a failure of the government to ensure that such violence occurred, Tynsong rejected the blame, stating that the district council has full authority with judicial and executive powers.
"You can't blame the government. Because this is fully the authority of the district council, as I said, they have judicial power and also they have executive power. More or less like the state government or the central government. So you can't say that the government's failure is that. They should have had a special session if they already knew it. Why didn't they discuss the issue? Therefore, even from the government side, we have no role to play. In fact, they're the leaders. They know where to amend," Tynsong said.
The authorities confirmed on Tuesday that two people have already died in the West Garo Hills district amid tensions over the nomination process for the GHADC elections.
The clashes reportedly occurred between tribal and non-tribal groups in connection with the GHADC elections. In response, the district administration imposed a curfew for 12 hours under Section 163 of the BNSS in 37 villages across the district.
The elections were originally scheduled to be held on April 10.
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