Shillong, August 6: Voice of the People Party (VPP) president Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit on Thursday said the party’s peaceful march to the Meghalaya Secretariat was aimed at sending a clear message that the people are dissatisfied with the functioning of the MDA government, while thanking thousands of supporters for participating in what he described as a disciplined and peaceful demonstration.
Speaking to reporters after the march, Ardent expressed gratitude to party workers and supporters from across the state, saying the overwhelming turnout on a working day reflected growing public support for the issues raised by the party.
“I would like to thank everyone who participated in this peaceful march. We are very encouraged by the huge and spontaneous response from the people, especially considering it was held on a working day,” he said.
He said the VPP organised the march to highlight what it believes are the government’s failures to address several important public issues.
“This peaceful march was conducted to convey a message to the government that the people are not happy with its style of functioning. We have been raising these issues repeatedly over time. The march has now concluded, and we will wait to see how the government responds,” Ardent stated.
The VPP chief said the party deliberately chose not to submit another memorandum to the government, arguing that previous representations had received neither written replies nor invitations for discussion.
“We have already written to the government on many issues in the past, but unfortunately there was neither a written response nor any invitation for discussion. Since the government is already aware of these issues, we saw no need to submit another memorandum,” he said.
Ardent also criticised the functioning of the Assembly, alleging that opposition legislators are frequently denied adequate time to raise matters concerning the public. According to him, members of the ruling coalition are given greater opportunities to participate in debates, while opposition voices are often curtailed.
“We are not afraid of debate. We are prepared to present facts before the government, but we are hardly given enough time to discuss important public issues on the floor of the House,” he said.
Highlighting the peaceful nature of the demonstration, Ardent said the party had repeatedly instructed its supporters to maintain discipline and ensure the protest did not inconvenience the public.
“We have no intention of creating law-and-order problems or causing inconvenience to the public. We repeatedly instructed our supporters to follow the party’s directions, and today’s peaceful march demonstrates that commitment,” he said.
The VPP president accused the MDA government of consistently ignoring opposition parties and failing to engage with elected representatives on issues affecting the people.
“The issues we have raised concern the welfare of the people. If the government is serious about addressing them, it should call us for discussions and take us into confidence. Unfortunately, this government has repeatedly ignored and belittled the role of the opposition,” he alleged.
Responding to questions on why the party chose to organise a public march, Ardent said repeated attempts to engage the government through official channels had failed.
“Why did we take to the streets? Because every time we raised these issues, we were ignored. This peaceful march became our last resort after repeated attempts to engage with the government yielded no response,” he said.
He further alleged that the limited time allotted to opposition members during Assembly sessions had prevented meaningful discussions on key public concerns.
Asked whether the party would launch further agitations, Ardent said the VPP would first wait for the government’s response before deciding its next course of action.
“We are yet to decide our next step. We will wait for some time and see how the government responds,” he said.
Expressing satisfaction over the turnout, Ardent said the massive participation demonstrated that the public was willing to stand behind issues affecting Meghalaya.
“I am happy to see such a huge crowd gathered spontaneously without spending a single paisa. The response, especially on a working day, should send a strong message to the government,” he added.
The VPP’s march to the Secretariat concluded peacefully without any reports of violence or untoward incidents, as thousands of supporters dispersed after the party leadership addressed the gathering and the media.
