VPP wants 1971 population base to determine reservation policy
HYC for 50% reservation for Khasi-Jaintia communities
Shillong, June 14: The Voice of the People Party (VPP) wanted the percentage of reservation for Khasi-Jaintia, Garos, Scheduled Castes and other tribes should be based in terms of their population as per the 1971 census.
The party stressed the need to recognise Khasi-Jaintia as one community.
VPP president Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit submitted a letter to the Expert Committee on State Reservation Policy on Friday and said, “The percentage of reservation for Khasi-Jaintia, Garos, Scheduled Castes and other tribes should be based in terms of their population as per the 1971 census. The Khasi-Jaintia community should be taken as one community.”
Ardent said that the state job reservation policy inspite of the fact that it states representation in terms of their population, the accurate official census data was not taken into consideration while allocating the percentage of reservation.
“Therefore, the allocation of 40 percent for the Khasi-Jaintia, 40 percent for the Garos and 5 percent for the SC and other STs lacked logical and scientific basis. The percentage was based on assumption rather on facts. Hence, it went against the very basis of the policy itself,” he said.
The failure of the government of Meghalaya to put in place the roster system while implementing the job reservation was eventually corrected by the Meghalaya High Court in 2022, he added.
The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) has said a 93 percent combined reservation should be given to the Scheduled Tribes (STs) of the state.
“We are of the opinion that if the Supreme Court held that sub-classification of STs/SCs is Constitutionally and legally valid, then based on the ratio of population of Khasi-Jaintia community, the reservation should be 50%, the Garo category should be retained at 40% and other STs category be given 3% reservation. If sub-classification of STs/SCs is constitutionally invalid and illegal as per the opinion of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the afore-stated case, then we are of the opinion that 93% combined reservation should be given to the STs of the State, 2% to the SCs and 5% be left as unreserved category,” HYC president Roykupar Synrem said in a letter to the Expert Committee on State Reservation Policy.
