GUWAHATI: The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) says it will continue to pressure the state government till the inner line permit (ILP) is implemented in the entire state based on the resolution passed by the Nagaland Assembly in February this year.
The students’ federation has recently submitted a memorandum in this regard to the Nagaland chief minister reiterating the decades-old demand for effective implementation of ILP and enforcement of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation of 1873 in true letter and spirit to cover the entire state.
“We want the state government to implement ILP covering the entire state including Dimapur, which is the only place in Nagaland people from outside did not require a permit to enter the state. Besides, the state Assembly had during its budget session on February 21, 2019, passed a resolution on extending ILP to Dimapur based on the report of the ILP committee submitted to the government,” NSF president, Ninoto Awomi toldThe Shillong Times from Kohima on Tuesday.
Asked what the federation’s course of action if there was further delay in implementation of ILP in the state, Awomi said as of now it would prefer to wait and watch.
“We have not set up any deadline for the government in this regard as of now. There is no decision on the course of action to be taken up as yet, if there is no urgency to implement ILP in Dimapur. However, we will no more be able to withstand the delaying tactics and continue to pressure the government through democratic means,” he said.
The NSF leader lauded the statement of the government in assuring the people to deliver its commitment to the Naga people at a time when the Naga people were disturbed by the public interest litigation recently filed by Ashwani Kumar Upadhyay in the Supreme Court against implementation of ILP in Dimapur.
“We condemn the move by the petitioner. He has also given a very misleading statement that Dimapur was not part of Nagaland when it acquired statehood and was excluded from the Sixth Schedule. The allegation that Nagas are new settlers in Dimapur attempting to control and create a monopoly of trade and commerce is an insult that the NSF and all the Nagas have taken to the heart,” he said.
Awomi further said that to safeguard the Naga ethnicity as an entity of the land, the extension of ILP to the entire state is of paramount importance.