Port Blair, Apr. 15: The former Member of Parliament of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray has urged the Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands to immediately hold a meeting of the LG’s Advisory Council.
In a letter addressed to the Lt. Governor the former MP said that there is a the deep sense of disquiet and feeling of neglect by the public representatives of this territory, who are answerable to the islanders at the grass root level.
“The voices of a common man are represented through these duly elected representatives as per the Constitution. Here it may also have to be stated that even after 70 years of Independence, access of common man to authorities have largely remained restrictive. It has also been noted with the concern that even the lone Member of Parliament, representing the entire State/ UT (quite unlike MPs in other states), is not being consulted on any decisions. Even the major Political parties including the Ruling party (BJP, A & N Islands) have not been kept in the loop or consulted while decisions impacting each and every islander is being taken (sometime even going beyond the guidelines issued by MHA). It may be noted that even the Prime Minister has held series of meetings with all political parties/ public representatives etc from time to time to ascertain their views and for passing on the views of the government. This is what is required in a democratic setup,” Mr. Ray said.
He said that against this background, in order to restore confidence in the general public immediately hold a meeting of the LG’s Advisory Council by co-opting prominent persons of the territory-to get feedback/ opinion of general public/ public representatives and action to be taken in accordance with guidelines issued by GOI (Ministry wise)/MHA to fight the pandemic in this territory.
