Staff Reporter

Shillong, April 25: Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong has stated that the government’s focus is on the implementation of the roster system.

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“The duty of the government is to again revisit and study properly about the roster system and we are on the job,” Tynsong told reporters today.

Informing that an all-party meeting will also be convened next month to discuss the roster issue, the deputy chief minister however said, “Before doing that, we will have a detailed discussion in the Cabinet and we will have a detailed discussion with the MDA partners.”

When asked on the demand for reviewing the state reservation policy, Tynsong said, “Amendment does not arise. This is not the Act, it is only a policy and this policy has been initiated and started right from 1972.”

“I even saw one political party demanding that we should have a special session which is not at all needed except if we intend from the government to amend the Act, the existing Act, the highest authority to agree to the amendment is the legislative assembly,” he added.

Further, Tynsong said, “Just demanding that we have to review the reservation policy is not as simple as that. So when you talk about roster system, yes, now the government is seriously examining this issue and once that is done Cabinet will sit down, MDA will sit down and then ultimately we will invite all political parties and we will invite also all the stakeholders in one go where we will explain exactly what is a roster system and how is it taking effective is it retrospective or is it prospective.”

The deputy chief minister said that right now the concern of the stakeholders and the people of the state is about the roster system that it should be implemented prospectively not retrospectively adding that “I think that is the main core issue. I have seen quite a number of NGOs in the state who demanded the same thing.”

Referring to the stand of the VPP on the issue, Tynsong said, “VPP (as) you know they keep aside the roster system and their priority is reservation policy and reservation policy right now as I said to you I will not say anything because now the focus of the government is on roster system.”