SHILLONG, Jan 30 – Addressing the closing session of the 12th North-East Region Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (NERCPA) conference here today, Meghalaya Governor RS Mooshahary said that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has over-lived its utility in the region and therefore should be revoked. He said that prolonged use of AFSPA has alienated the civil society. “We cannot contain insurgency related violence by alienating the citizens; we can do so more effectively by involving them,” Mooshahary stated.
Instead, the Governor suggested, the State police forces, which represent the civil society, needs to be strengthened and reliance onthe armed forces must be reduced to win the trust of the citizens in fighting insurgency.
Mooshahary further observed that the biggest threat to Indian democracy was “criminalisation” of the electoral politics and “communalisation” of the stakeholders.
“Communalisation is a practice of divisive politics and it is inherently insidious to our nation building. It can disintegrate the country faster than insurgency or terrorism,” Mooshahary said.
The Governor suggested that in a secular democratic republic like India any attempt to criminalise and communalise the Indian polity should be treated as a criminal offense and instigators of such hateful practices must be debarred from holding public offices.
The former National Security Guard chief also observed that voters in India are increasingly being reduced to “tradable merchandise” during elections. “It is becoming increasing difficult for the common people to stay immune from the psychological and physical pressure during elections and the most damaging trend is that the voters are being reduced to tradablemerchandise during elections,” the Governor observed.
Assam Tribune
AFSPA should be revoked: Mooshahary
