SHILLONG : Former MDC Sofior Rahman on Tuesday announced that he intends to challenge the GHADC executive committee’s notification making an ST certificate mandatory to contest council elections, calling the move “totally by force, totally lawless” and unconstitutional. Rahman argued that the notification violates the law and the Constitution, pointing out that it bypassed the Governor and the District Council Affairs Ministry. He explained that Para 11 of the GHADC rules only allows for administrative regulations and that any qualification for contesting elections must be issued via a Governor’s notification under the Sixth Schedule.
Rahman emphasized that disqualification must be based on law, not emotion, otherwise it infringes on Article 14. He stated that the GHADC executive body does not have the authority to impose such a rule and that any political law or qualification must go through the District Council Affairs department and receive the Governor’s assent, which in this case was not done. He stressed that if an ST certificate is to be made compulsory, it must be notified by the Governor under the Sixth Schedule; otherwise, it lacks constitutional validity. Rahman highlighted that non-tribals have participated in GHADC elections since 1952, noting that his own forefather had served as an MDC from Kharkuta, and that the Constitution does not bar non-tribals from contesting. He warned that the order acts as a threat to the non-tribal community, noting that non-tribals are increasingly being labeled as Bangladeshi despite belonging to India since before 1972.
Rahman criticized the council’s notification as an attempt to impose policies by force to exclude non-tribals from the district council and urged the state government to intervene before nominations begin. He said that any rule or restriction must follow due process through the District Council Affairs department and Governor’s approval to have legal validity. Rahman appealed to the Meghalaya government and the Chief Minister to clarify the status of the notification and called for an official statement confirming its invalidity. He further stated that his team has already met the Governor and will challenge the GHADC ST-certificate notification in court if it is not withdrawn. Rahman said, “Within 2–3 days we are challenging it in the High Court, and if the High Court does not respond, we will approach the Supreme Court.”