On the 30th of May 2023 the members of the Blind Lead Trust Organization under the leadership of the Shri. Jitendra Dkhar Director of the Blind Lead Trust Organization , Acting secretary Womphermiki Lamare, Office Assistant Dashisha Syiem and Bandwina Khymdeit assistance membership and two other beneficiaries of the organization went to support the hunger strike taken by the VPP.
On this day, the BLT assembled in the office together to go to the Additional Secretariat. First, the BLT members went to Laimukhrah to buy a bouquet for MR. Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit. On reaching the area, the members of the BLT hand over the bouquet to Mr. Ardent himself and have a bit of interaction with him. The Director of the BLT speaks with the media that we have come here to show support to the VPP (Voice of the People party) on the indefinite hunger strike based on the Reservation Policy. After that the members of the BLT had a group photo session along with the President of the VPP Mr. Ardent Miller Basawiawmoit.
The reason behind the indefinite hunger strike is that the VPP wants to review the Reservation policy on job opportunities between the two communities that are the Garo and the Khasi Jaintia people. The VPP wants to review the reservation based on the population. Since 1972, 40% of the State Government jobs are reserved for the Khasi and Garo Communities and 20% for the general and other Backward class. It has been almost 51 years since the implementation of the Reservation since changes have never been made and it remains stagnant. In other States, changes have been made from time to time according to the needs in the Reservation Policy. With the rise of the Population, with Khasi being more in number than the Garo people. This has affected the job reservation in our state.
The VPP has been seeking a review of the policy asserting that it is unfair to the Khasi Tribe, The Population of which has outnumbered that of the Garo over the years. The present policy needs a relook as the population of the Khasis consisting of subtribes- Jaintia’s, Wars, Bhois, and Lyngngam- is higher than the Garo people, it said according to the 2011 census, over 14.1 lakh Khasis lives in Meghalaya while the number of Garo people is a little over 8.21 lakh. So, this policy is unfair and outdated” said the VPP President.
According to the VPP President, he is not against the right of the Garos to the government jobs and he is only demanding an “impartial” job reservation policy.
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