SHILLONG: HSPDP legislator Ardent Basaiawmoit has asked Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma to see the ‘writing on the wall’ since the November 30 rally had endorsed the demand for ILP and rejected the Meghalaya Regulation of Landlords and Verification of Tenants Bill, 2013.
In reaction to a recent criticism levelled against him by the Chief Minister on the issue of ILP, Basaiawmoit, in a statement issued here on Sunday, said he was very happy to witness people’s support to the ILP movement during the November 30 rally at Student’s Field, Jaiaw.
“Though I could not attend the public rally for unavoidable reason, I genuinely feel that the Chief Minister should see the writing on the wall,” Basaiawmoit said.
As per media reports, the Chief Minister had castigated Basaiawmoit for his double standard on the issue of ILP. The Chief Minister had stated that the legislator had given two divergent views on this issue in the floor of the House during the budget session and in the last Assembly session in October.
However, in his clarification, Basaiawmoit said that at no point of time, he had changed his stand on the issue of influx.
“I had never claimed both inside and outside the House that ILP is the only solution. However, I strongly believe that it is one of the best mechanisms. In fact, I was the only MLA who had demanded for the implementation of ILP during my participation in the debate on the floor of the House during the winter session of 2012. Moreover, in the last Assembly Session I had even raised the issue of ILP in the form of a resolution,” Basaiawmoit said.
According to him, the allegation levelled against him by the Chief Minister was the result of frustration for failing to stem the tide of the agitation and dealing with the present situation.
The legislator also made a slew of suggestions to address the issue of influx which included introduction of ILP in the State, seeking the intervention of the Union Government on who should be eligible to enrol in the electoral roll of the State, implementing the Supreme Court verdict as far as the issue of inter-marriage between tribal women and non-tribal men is concerned and preventing non-tribals from acquiring land in Meghalaya by inserting more stringent sections in the present Meghalaya Transfer of Land Regulation Act, 1972.