Shillong, Sep 5: Cabinet minister Rakkam A Sangma has slammed the Opposition for “politicising” the ongoing protest by the employees of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) over non-payment of salary for the past 44 months.
An NPP legislator from Siju-Rongara, Sangma urged the aggrieved employees to accept the government’s proposal and not be misguided by “vested interests”.
Expressing his understanding of the employees’ plight, the protest could be justified if the employees’ salary is pending for 3-4 months. “How they survive 43 months (without salary) God knows,” he said.
He mentioned that the government has already proposed to pay their salary from November 1 and clearing the backlog.
“For the backlog, the GHADC has already announced to pay 5 months’ salary and the rest will be paid like arrears from the state government fund and from their own funds,” Sangma said.
Urging the GHADC employees to accept the offer, he said, “There is no solution better than this.”
“My elder brother is also an employee of the GHADC, we know the pain of the family,” he added.
Meanwhile, he alleged that opposition parties, including BJP and TMC, are using the protest for their own interests, especially with elections approaching.
“I feel it is unfortunate that this institution has been taken for granted for politics of some vested interests. Some politicians with vested interests have engineered this protest,” he said.
“So, they (employees) should understand and they should not be misled by vested interests,” he said.
