SHILLONG: As the Centre is yet to decide on the implementation of Inner Line Permit in the state, the Khasi Students Union has said that the central government must understand and respect the voice of the people of the state.
KSU president Lambok Marngar on Sunday said that ILP and Sixth Schedule are two different subjects and both should not be mixed.
While the ILP deals with illegal immigration and protection to the indigenous people, the Sixth Schedule deals with issues related to the district councils, traditional institutions and customary laws.
“The demand for ILP is the voice of the people,” Marngar said while adding that when ILP can be gifted to Manipur then why it cannot be implemented in Meghalaya.
He also made it clear that the KSU would continue its democratic movement to demand ILP for the state.
He added that the Union would take a call on whether they should go to New Delhi to apprise the Centre on the need to implement ILP in the state.
As per media reports, the Centre is most likely to include the whole of Meghalaya under the Sixth Schedule rather than declaring Inner Line Permit for the hill state whose capital Shillong is considered as a gateway and a top tourist destination.
According to media reports which quoted sources in the Home Ministry, accepting the state government’s unanimous proposal to implement ILP will cause more harm to the state than good since the state, especially Shillong, is considered as a gateway and get-together place for many national and international events after Guwahati, and ILP will be a disabling factor rather than an enabling feature.
