New Delhi: The long-pending demand for the introduction of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Assam may come true any time after February as the Centre is learnt to be considering the move as the preliminary report of a high-level committee on Assam Accord’s Clause 6 suggests its need.
Set up to frame measure to safeguard the interest of Assamese people, the 14-member committee is learnt to have suggested the introduction of ILP, as well as reservation of seats in the Legislative Assembly and local bodies, and in employment for them.
Clause 6 of the 1985 Accord provides for constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to protect the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.
Officials, in the know of the developments, indicated that the Ministry of Home Affairs would take its final decision on ILP based on the final report of the committee, which was on January 15, given one more month time to finish its task.
The preliminary report of the committee and the ongoing protests in Assam against newly-passed Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which left Assamese apprehensive given their experience of unabated infiltration for decades, led to various discussions in the Ministry over introduction of ILP in Assam, an official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told IANS.
“The ILP issue in Assam has gone through various deliberations in the Ministry since it has received the Clause 6 committee’s preliminary report. As the committee is set to submit its final report on February 15, the Centre would announce its decision on ILP accordingly,” the official said.
Amid the furore over the CAA, the Home Ministry on January 15 gave one more month to the committee to submit its report on assessing quantum of seats to be reserved in the Assam Assembly and local bodies for the Assamese people.
As the ILP provision does not exist in Assam and the CAA only exempts the state’s tribal areas, included in the Constitution’s Sixth Schedule, from implementation of the act, signs of discontent are already emerging in remaining areas across the region.
The CAA says its provisions “do not apply to tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram or Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution and the area covered under ‘The Inner Line’ notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873″. (IANS)
