Convene all-party meet on ILP: Ampareen to govt

SHILLONG, Dec 1: Senior Congress leader, Ampareen Lyngdoh today asked the state government to call an all-party meeting and also invite the pressure groups for talks on the demand for implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Meghalaya.
Ampareen lamented the government’s silence on the issue and pointed out that the MDA Government had had not responded to the queries about its position on the ILP demand during the recently concluded session of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly and there was not even enough time reserved for discussion on the subject.
“In a democratic setup, the government should call us for an all-party meeting and also hold a meeting with NGOs,” Lyngdoh said, while adding that there is no such thing as a “virtual ILP”.
Recalling that the government last year had spoken about giving ILP to people of the state as a Christmas gift, the Congress legislator rued that the biggest concern for the state is that Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has been implemented in parts of the state, including areas right in the heart of the city.
Admitting that the procedure of implementing a law especially in new areas is always complicated, she reminded that the Congress, when they were in power, had held consultations on ILP but it was not extended to any other state of the country that time.
“We accepted it and then we came with the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act and it was sent to the Union Government and the Ministry of Home Affairs once again made many observations and we had discussed about those observations with NGOs,” she stated.
The Congress MLA also wants the government to come clean on the actual position of the demand which has been made by the state government as far as implementing ILP in the state is concerned.
The statement of the Congress legislator comes at a time when pro-ILP groups in Meghalaya are all set to intensify their agitation to press in support of ILP.