SHILLONG: Activists protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act have made it clear that they want the Inner Line Permit (ILP) and the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA) to be implemented simultaneously.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Tuesday, Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) president Lambok Marngar said that the MRSSA should be implemented fairly and at the same time the demand for ILP will always remain as the ILP implementation cannot be done overnight.
Reiterating that the demand for ILP is not a new one, Marngar and hoped that all the 60 MLAs will support the demand for ILP.
He also made it clear that they will continue with democratic forms of protests until the Government of India implements ILP in the state.
Meanwhile, Federation of Khasi Jaintia Garo People (FKJGP) president, Wellbirth Rani asked the state government to pursue the matter of ILP aggressively.
He raised concerns about dubious citizens in the state and added that the infiltration check gate in Byrnihat was not reliable.
He said that the implementation of the original Residents Act is the need of the hour as ILP cannot be granted overnight.
Hynniewtrep National Youth Front (HNYF) president Sadon Blah said the state government was taking one step at a time. He added that Meghalaya has no statistics with regard to the number of illegal migrants in the state.
“The state government should expedite the processes of construction of entry and exit points. The presence of entry and exit points will considerably augment the implementation of ILP”, he said.
Blah said that the implementation of the MRSSA is needed as the state is without any means of protection from illegal influx.
