Shillong, Aug 21: Leader of Opposition Mukul Sangma has blamed the state government for the law and order situation in Shillong
Violence marked the KSU’s black-flag bike rally on August 19.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday Sangma said the violence was not sudden but the culmination of long-pending issues raised by civil society organisations which the government chose to ignore.
“If you look at the genesis and how it culminated on the day of the incident, we have been confronted by such challenges in the past when issues are raised in the best interest of the people by stakeholders and civil society organizations,” Sangma said.
“It is important for the government to take cognizance of every issue. Was the government not in a position to understand the magnitude of frustration and anger that would be the end result of its insensitivity when those issues were flagged?” he asked.
Terming the August 19 incident a complete administrative failure, he said the government had enough time and machinery to anticipate trouble.
“Is it not possible for the government to know what is going to happen on the day of the incident? If permission was issued for a rally, was it not necessary to issue an advisory to the public? The government has all the machinery to gather inputs and put preventive measures in place. What happened should not have happened,” Sangma said.
He disagreed portraying the incident as a conflict between communities or between Meghalaya and Assam.
“It is very important not to give this incident a picture which has ramifications from a different angle. It is not a conflict between the people of Meghalaya and Assam. It is an unpleasant incident that happened due to the failure of the state government,” he said.
Highlighting the dangers of misinformation on social media, he said, “We have to be very careful because we are in an era where news spreads like wildfire on social media, not just conventional media. The government must take utmost precaution to ensure any incident with potential for misinterpretation is dealt with effectively.”
Sangma said the government’s only response so far – that ‘law will take its own course’ – shows lack of seriousness.
“Have you seen any serious response from the government till now? I have not. The only thing I have seen is ‘law will take its own course’. That is a natural course, it is the easiest thing for any government to say. The government has been found to be insensitive, irresponsible and wanting,” he said.
Regarding vehicles stranded along the Assam-Meghalaya border, Sangma said the situation does not augur well for the state. In
“Frankly, they don’t know what they are doing. The kind of perception being generated and amplified by the narrative is very dangerous. It has the potential to damage the name, fame and brand of Meghalaya and disturb peace across the inter-state border,” he said.
To a question on violence to intelligence failure and lack of anticipation, Sangma said, “The government has all the machinery to have inputs under any given situation and those machineries must be activated. The power of anticipation is necessary to understand the likelihood of such a situation, especially when a rally is organised to protest against the government’s insensitivity, where frustration has become anger and anger has resulted in rebellion.”
Referring to his warning in the Assembly, he said, “Have I not said a number of times in the august house that there is no space for the government to be complacent? Don’t take things for granted. I used these exact words in the last session after what happened in Garo Hills. Now you are seeing it in Shillong. People in government have misplaced priorities and that is very dangerous in a democracy.”
Stressing the need to remain calm, Sangma said the August 19 incident should not be seen as a communal clash but as a result of the government’s failure to take adequate pre-emptive measures.
