SHILLONG, Dec 23: The banned Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) on Monday issued a warning to Voice of the People Party (VPP) president Ardent M Basaiawmoit, asking him to refrain from what it described as behaving like a “Blei Khyndew” (God of the earth).
In a statement, HNLC general secretary Sainkupar Nongtraw criticised Basaiawmoit for condemning the militant outfit’s alleged interference in the functioning of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC). Nongtraw defended the group’s stand on the KHADC’s failure to issue the sanad (appointment) to the Syiem of Hima Sohra, alleging political influence within the council.
“The HNLC is firm in its stand because the Acting Chief Mynjurlang Majaw is a party worker of the VPP. Therefore, Ardent should not pretend to be innocent and should not behave like a ‘Blei Khyndew’,” Nongtraw said.
Rejecting Basaiawmoit’s appeal to the outfit to stay away from KHADC affairs, the HNLC leader asserted that the group has the right to intervene in matters concerning the rights of the indigenous community. He also made a sharp remark likening political posturing to “blowing one’s own trumpet before going to the battlefield.”
Nongtraw further announced that the outfit would soon publish a book titled “The Blueprint of Hynńiewtrep”, which, he said, would respond to the questions raised by the VPP leader. He also posed a rhetorical question to Basaiawmoit, asking whether indigenous people wanted to become “tenants or house owners” in their own land.
The statement adds to the ongoing political and security tensions in Meghalaya surrounding KHADC affairs and indigenous rights issues.
