SHILLONG: Union Minister of State (Independent charge) for Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari has left it to the State Government and the agitating pressure groups to resolve the current impasse over ILP.
Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma recently said that “even if the State Government agrees to implement ILP, it will have to be further approved by the Centre.”
To a query on what would be the Centre’s stand on the issue of ILP during a news conference on Tuesday, Tewari said, “This is an issue between the State Government and various groups which are articulating this demand and if at all there is a Central dimension to it, then it falls under the Ministry of Home affairs”.
According to Tewari, the Chief Minister had brought the matter to the attention of Central Government and in his wisdom, he thought necessary to do so and the Centre always takes a decision taking larger national perspective in mind.
Taking a cautious approach on the matter, Tewari further said, “You know all such issues since Meghalaya is a border state. It has border with Bangladesh, I also come from a frontline State which has a border with Pakistan. Therefore, when you try to talk about issues which are sensitive which you do not obviously understand in its entirety, I think it is much better to err on the side of caution”.