JAC demands CM to step down over coal issue

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaFebruary 11, 2020

JOWAI: Irked at the failure of the NPP-led MDA government to resolve the coal issue in the state, the Meghalaya Joint Action Committee for Solution of Public Grievances (MJACSPG) has demanded the stepping down of chief minister Conrad K Sangma.

The demand was made at a public meeting held at Hynniawmer in West Jaintia Hills District on Tuesday and attended by coal miners from the region.

The JAC comprises of the All Jaintia Hills Transporter Association (AJHTA) and the Meghalaya People’s Labour Union (MPLU).

Speakers at the meeting slammed the MDA government for its failure to address the issue. They also reminded that during elections, the ruling NPP had promised the people of the state to ensure coal mining in the state resumed at the earliest.

However nothing was done to make this promise a reality despite of the fact that the NPP has been heading the government for the past two years, they said.

The meeting also resolved to demand the state government to immediately take measures to re-start coal mining failing which the chief minister should own responsibility by stepping down.

Earlier while speaking at the meeting, JAC co-convener and MPLU president Erwin K Sutnga said that the state government has totally failed to comply with the ruling passed by the Supreme Court on July 3, 2019.

“The JAC will be compelled to seek the intervention of the Supreme Court against the state government,” he said adding that the government seem to be busy in allowing transportation of coal but does not have time to implement the Supreme Court’s ruling in the interest of the people.