SHILLONG, Dec 3: Despite Chief Minister Conrad Sangma’s promise to introduce entry-exit system from next week, the Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organization (CoMSO) which is spearheading agitation for ILP, has decided to continue with their stir.
CoMSO activist Roy Kupar Synrem said that the chief minister informed them the entry and exit point at Umling will likely be commissioned on December 10 or December 12 but the organisation would not rest until ILP is enforced in the state.
Stressing on the importance of entry and exit point, he said, “Entry point and exit point is needed even if we implement ILP or Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Amendment Bill (MRSSA) because the person entering the state has to be registered at the entry point and if he wishes to leave the state he has to register at the exit point”.
Expressing optimism that the hope for the demand of ILP is not lost, he said that the organization has asked the chief minister to follow up on the issue of ILP “aggressively”.
The organization also suggested that an all party delegation should meet the union government to be led by the chief minister to apprise the Union government about the demand for ILP.
“We are not satisfied that is why the agitational programmes of the CoMSO will continue. Tomorrow we are having sit-in demonstration and later all the leaders of CoMSO will meet and decide the next course of action”, he said.
As for the contention that Meghalaya is used as a transit state and it will be inconvenient to the public, Synrem said that for Meghalaya rules may be framed in such a way that it may not cause any inconvenience to the people who are using it as a transit.
He added that ILP may be implemented as it serves the purpose of protecting the indigenous people.
With regard to the North Karimganj MLA, Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha requesting the chief minister to not implement ILP, Synrem said that people from outside the state should not interfere in the affairs of the state.
As for the MRSSA, Synrem said that the Bill is with the Governor and the chief minister gave them a positive reply that it will be implemented.
PDF wants Centre
to clear air on demand
The People’s Democratic Front (PDF), an ally of the NPP-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA), has asked the Centre to clear its stand on the demand for implementation of ILP in the state.
“If they say ok they will implement ILP in Meghalaya they should come clean and if not also they should give the reason why? We should know. The people of the state are in the dark,” said PDF president and Sports Minister, Banteidor Lyngdoh.
Talking about the fresh spell of agitation that has resurfaced in the state due to the Centre’s delay on the ILP issue, the PDF president said, “Everyone is thinking that the Government of India is not taking the matter seriously and that is why NGOs have started taking up this matter again”.
“The state should knock the Centre’s door once again to find out if they have started examining the demand or just keeping it in abeyance”.
“The Governor has also said that that the Government of India is in the process of examining the ILP demand. This is not a simple issue but a sensitive once concerning the wellbeing of people of the state,” he said.
Making the PDF’s stand clear on the ILP demand, the PDF president said, “From the party’s point of view we want ILP to be implemented in our state. We will take it up again and again with the chief minister and also find out if we can meet the Union Home Minister in this regard,” he added.