Meghalaya: Contractual teachers continue to protest demanding reinstatement of service
SHILLONG: Protests by contractual teachers outside the Meghalaya secretariat here demanding the reinstatement of service continued on Friday, a day after the police action against them to stop them from storming the secretariat.
The Meghalaya police facing criticism for teargassing and lathi-charging the teachers on Thursday defended bursting tear gas shells.
"We had to use mild force and burst tear gas shells to stop the agitators from storming the secretariat, a place where Section 144 CrPC is in force," city superintendent of police Vivek Syiem told PTI on Friday.
He flatly denied that police had lathi-charged the teachers and injured some of them when they stormed the secretariat on Thursday accompanied by their family members, children and members of social organisations.
Pregnant women teachers were reportedly among the agitators and the police action against them has drawn severe criticism from all quarters.
Opposition TMC has condemned the incident.
Party leader and Opposition Chief Whip George B Lyngdoh said "The government has gone deaf and dumb. I think it is the collective responsibility of the entire cabinet to ensure safety and to provide livelihood".
Hundreds of teachers under the banner of Meghalaya Government Lower Primary Contractual Teachers Association are pressing for reinstatement in their jobs.
The services of over 800 of them had been terminated two years ago for failing to clear the Meghalaya Teachers Eligibility Test.
They have been staging their indefinite protest at Barik, about 200 meters away from the secretariat for the past one month.
The agitating teachers refused to meet the state government and asked the district magistrates on the ground to convey the message that they will only call off their agitation if the government issued an order for reinstatement.
They have returned invitations of the state Education Minister Lakhmen Rymbui for talks on Friday evening and chief secretary D P Wahlang for talks.
The Association leader Birbor Riangtem has said, "Our clear message to the government is if it wants us to call off this agitation, it should order reinstatement of our services as we want to go back to our schools".
He said the Association has met Chief Minister Conrad Sangma seven times but there has been no positive outcome even after two years.
There has been no communication from the government that it will come up with an alternative solution to resolve the issue of contractual teachers.
Riangtem condemned the "highhandedness of the police" in bursting tear gas shells.
"Using tear gas is a violation of our human rights. We are not terrorists, we are teachers. We were marching peacefully but the police and district administration blocked us and started bursting tear gas shells despite being informed about the presence of our children and pregnant teachers".