SHILLONG, MAR 18: The Indian National Congress has strongly criticised the Government of Meghalaya over its decision to extend the tenure of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) by six months, following recent unrest linked to the council elections.

Rejecting the move, Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) working president Deborah Marak said the party “never endorsed” the extension and argued that a shorter and more targeted approach could have been adopted.

“Six months is very long,” Marak told reporters on Wednesday.

She maintained that elections could have proceeded in 27 out of the 29 constituencies, excluding Shyamnagar and Balachanda, which remain at the centre of the dispute over non-tribal participation.

“They could have suspended these two constituencies, allowed polls elsewhere, and let a new executive committee find a good mechanism to solve the ongoing problem,” she said.

Marak further stated that the Congress supports the Achik demand barring non-tribals from contesting in the two disputed seats and expressed disappointment that Chief Minister Conrad Sangma did not convene an all-party meeting before taking the decision.

“The chief minister should have called an all-party meeting, but he did not. We could have given inputs — we would have suggested suspending elections only in Shyamnagar and Balachanda and allowing the rest to go ahead. He took a decision on his own,” she said.

According to the Congress, limiting the suspension to the two constituencies while conducting elections in the remaining seats would have ensured continuity in governance while addressing the contentious issue separately.