HYC ends 3-day hunger strike, questions will be circulated to political parties over ILP demand

Shillong, Dec 9: The Hynñiewtrep Youths’ Council (HYC) on Saturday released over 30 questions to be circulated to all political parties except the ruling Congress to get their stand on the need to implement Inner Line Permit (ILP) and other mechanisms to check influx in the state.

The questions were released on the last day of the hunger strike staged by HYC activists at the parking lot near Additional Secretariat here.

Demanding that an official resolution be passed during the ongoing winter session of the State Assembly for implementing strong anti-influx laws in the state, the HYC has threatened to intensify its agitation if the Assembly failed to pass the resolution.

The HYC has given a 20-day ultimatum to different political parties as well as aspiring candidates for the upcoming 2018 state elections to reply to the questions on issues relating to uranium mining, railway projects, municipal elections, inter-state border dispute, crimes against women and others.

 While for other political parties, a 31-point questionnaire was prepared, the HYC however added three more questions particularly for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to reply regarding the relationship of the party with the RSS, Hindutva issue and attempts to restrict eating habits including ban on beef.

The HYC would not provide the questions to the ruling Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) besides Independent legislators who supported the present government.

HYC general secretary Robertjune Kharjahrin said, “We will start circulating the questionnaires to various political parties from next week and they should reply back within 20 days.”

He informed that for aspiring candidates, the Council has tasked its members from the different districts to hand over the questionnaires to these candidates who are contesting from different constituencies.

Stating that the questionnaires will not be served to the ruling Congress party, Kharjahrin said, “This is because of the fact that the Congress and the people supporting the Congress-led government had already shown their attitude towards the issue raised by the Council.”

Kharjahrin said that the HYC was not interested in serving the same to rebel Congress legislators, who are planning to leave the Congress and join other parties, because “they were part of the government for last five years and had been part of its failures towards the people”.

For those MLAs who are part of the ruling Congress-led government, he said that “they are guilty by associating with the Congress”.

 “If the political parties fail to include the 14-point of demands for strong anti-influx laws which include the ILP in their manifestos, the HYC will launch a campaign against them in the upcoming Assembly elections. We will however wait for the reply of political parties but the campaign against the Congress will soon start,” he said.

 Welcoming the recent statement of Congress MDC in KHADC from Mawlai,P.T. Sawkmie that supported the demand for implementation of ILP in the state, the HYC leader however said, “We request him (Sawkmie) to urge the chief minister Mukul Sangma to pass the official resolution in Assembly for implementing ILP and other strong laws, otherwise we will go against him too because he is also guilty by associating with the Congress.”

 “If the demand is not considered during the current session, then we suggest that Sawkmie, who is also aspiring to contest the MLA election from Mawlai should avoid contesting on Congress ticket,” Kharjahrin said.

 Kharjahrin said that the next course of action will be announced after December 14.

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