Shillong, Oct 2:The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) has opposed the inclusion of two non-tribal students in the MBBS quota, though several Khasi students secured higher marks.
KSU general secretary Donald V. Thabah said Diya Ghosh, who scored 472 marks, and Tanushka Chakravarty, who scored 442 marks, were included in the unreserved category list for MBBS studies outside the state.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Thabah said one Khasi student scored higher than Ghosh, and more than seven Khasi students scored higher than Chakravarty, making them more deserving in the unreserved category.
“According to the list, several Khasi students who scored higher marks than the two non-tribal students have been overlooked for the unreserved category, despite being more meritorious. Notably, one Khasi student outscored Diya Ghosh, while over seven Khasi students scored higher than Tanushka Chakravarty…logically, if a Khasi student qualifies for the unreserved category, another Khasi student on the waiting list should be eligible for the Khasi-Jaintia category. However, the state government’s inclusion of Tanushka Chakravarty appears to have violated this principle, depriving a deserving Khasi student of their rightful place.”
The KSU leader questioned whether this discrepancy is due to governmental error, incompetence within the health department, or intentional favouritism towards Tanushka’s family, potentially due to their connections with influential government officials.
“Regardless, the KSU views this as a blatant attempt to undermine the rights of Khasi students, and such actions are likely to provoke further reaction from the union,” he said.
Thabah said, “The KSU has demanded that the state government immediately remove Tanushka Chakravarty’s name from the list and give the rightful seats to Khasi students. If the government fails to comply, the KSU will take to the streets to force the government to recognise the rights of Khasi students”.
Thabah pointed out that this is not the first time the KSU has raised concerns about seat allotment; similar incidents were reported in 2020 regarding agriculture seats.
