SHILLONG: The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) on Friday entered the secretariat and reiterated its demand for inner line permit and asked the government to update the National Register of Citizens list in Meghalaya.
HYC general secretary Roy Kupar Synrem said the group had submitted a petition three weeks back to remind the chief minister about the need for a discussion on its demand. “But we did not get any response from the CM,” he added.
So the members assembled on the premises of the Main Secretariat on Friday morning. They entered one by one and formed a group that took the security personnel by surprise. They took out placards and stood in front of the Secretariat. Later, they were asked to gather at the Additional Secretariat parking lot.
“We decided to enter the Secretariat to express our dissatisfaction on the lackadaisical attitude of the state government in bringing effective laws to prevent illegal influx into the state,” Synrem said.
After the new government was formed, HYC had placed several points before Conrad Sangma on influx and spoken to him for only 10 minutes and was told to discuss the points another time.
“We entered the Secretariat and we did not seek any permission. Then the district administration informed us that we should move to Additional Secretariat,” said the general secretary.
The members criticised the state government for not taking initiatives in curbing illegal influx. Like KSU, HYC too demanded an NRC-like exercise in the state with 1971 as the cut-off year.
Speaking to reporters at the Additional Secretariat parking lot, Synrem said, “The state government cannot say ILP and NRC cannot be implemented. Other states already have them. What is the problem in not conducting NRC in the state?”
Pointing to the Assam government that has released the NRC draft list in which 40 lakh were found to be non-genuine Indians, he said there is threat to the state if only a half of the 40 lakh immigrants come into Meghalaya.
“The state shares 480 km border with Assam. Moreover, the Citizenship Amendment Bill also poses a threat to us,” Synrem said and added that there are Bangladeshis settling in the state.
The HYC leader said Meghalaya should not become like Tripura where outsiders outnumber the population of indigenous tribes.
“We understand that the NRC draft is not final. But who will give an assurance to us that out of the 40 lakhs people will not seek refuge in the state? If there are no mechanisms to check influx, then who will give an assurance? If the Chief Minister gives an assurance in black and white that none of the 40 lakh people will infiltrate into the state then there is no need for NRC,” he said.
The HYC members resolved to conduct inspection of illegal immigrants.
“What did the government benefit from the infiltration check gate? A person can show an EPIC which is evident that a person is an Indian. Even an EPIC is not foolproof identity to show that a person is a genuine Indian,” argued Synrem.
“It only goes to show that entry/exit point and infiltration check gate are not foolproof measures to check influx of immigrants. We still need ILP,” he added.
