Shillong, March 23 Amidst protests over non-tribal participation in a tribal council election in Meghalaya, the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council on Monday approved a key amendment mandating that only members of Scheduled Tribes can contest the polls, effectively ending the participation of non-tribals after over seven decades, officials said.
Governor CH Vijayashankar had convened a special session of the Council, where the amendment to the Assam & Meghalaya Autonomous District (Constitution of District Council) Rules was unanimously passed to introduce and implement the changes.
The move followed weeks of unrest and ethnic tensions in parts of Garo Hills.
Two people died in protests against the participation of non-tribals in the council elections.
The situation was further compounded by political instability within the GHADC, even as pressure mounted on the government to address the long-standing demand for restricting electoral participation to tribal communities.
Following the unrest, the state government had deferred the elections scheduled for April 10 and later decided to extend the tenure of the council by six months to allow the new executive committee to introduce amendments to the rules in line with public demand.
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma termed the council resolution a "historic milestone".
"Today is a special session of the district council. The House has passed a resolution that will be remembered in history, making it mandatory for any candidate contesting the council elections to possess a Scheduled Tribe certificate," he said while addressing a gathering in front of the National People's Party (NPP) office in Tura.
The GHADC was constituted under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to safeguard the rights and self-governance of tribal communities.
