Tura, March 12 Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma held a meeting with party leaders and workers on Thursday to discuss ways to promote peace and rebuild trust among communities in the Garo Hills region following the recent violence.
"We held a meeting with our party leaders and workers to discuss how party members can work together to ensure peace and rebuild trust among different communities across Garo Hills," Sangma said in a post on X. He is the national president of the National People's Party.
He said the meeting began and concluded with prayers seeking peace and unity.
"We started and ended the meeting with a prayer for peace and unity. May God guide and see us through this difficult situation," the chief minister added.
The meeting came in the wake of violence that erupted in Tura earlier this week during protests linked to the upcoming elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC).
Two people were killed in police firing during the unrest on Tuesday, after which incidents of arson, vandalism and looting were reported in several parts of the town.
Miscreants set fire to shops, damaged roadside market sheds, and attacked properties, including a political party office, while several commercial establishments were also vandalised.
Authorities imposed curfew in West Garo Hills district and neighbouring East Garo Hills district following the violence, while additional security forces were deployed in sensitive areas to prevent further escalation.
The curfew in West Garo Hills has been extended from midnight on March 13 until 6 am on March 14, with a relaxation from 9 am to 1 pm on Friday to allow residents to purchase essential commodities, including food items and medicines.
The state government has also suspended mobile internet services across the entire Garo Hills Division as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of rumours and maintain public order.
The GHADC is one of the autonomous district councils constituted under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to safeguard the rights, land and traditions of indigenous tribal communities in the region.
Meanwhile, BJP Meghalaya Pradesh president Rikman G Momin said no infiltrator should be allowed to contest elections to the GHADC, asserting that the institution was created to protect the rights and self-governance of indigenous tribes.
"Whether it is the Tribal Autonomous District Council elections, the Legislative Assembly elections, or the Parliamentary elections, no infiltrator should be permitted to infiltrate any of these democratic processes, anywhere in India," Momin said in a statement.
The opposition Voice of the People's Party (VPP) has also raised concerns over the developments surrounding the council elections and called for protection of the constitutional safeguards meant for tribal communities.
