SHILLONG/TURA/MAWKYRWAT, Dec 4: Governor Satya Pal Malik today assured the Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organisation (CoMSO) that he along with Chief Minister Conrad Sangma would meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the coming weeks to request the Centre to consider the growing demand for implementation of ILP in Meghalaya.
CoMSO secretary Roykupar Synrem revealed this following their meeting with the Governor at Raj Bhavan.
“We explained to him why the indigenous people of the state need ILP as a special protection and he assured that he would do all that is possible in his capacity to pursue the matter with the Union Home Ministry,” Synrem said.
Enquired if any time frame was given as to when the governor and the chief minister will move to Delhi, Synrem said the Governor is expected to leave for Delhi on December 18 or 19.
“We have also suggested that the Governor-led state delegation should consist of all 60 members of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly,” he added.
On the Meghalaya Resident Safety and Security Amendment Act (MRSSA), Synrem said that the Governor is studying the matter and has assured that if this Bill is meant for the safety and security of people he will always support it.
Synrem said that the Governor citied how he had earlier given his assent to the Migrants Bill within two days and assured the organisation to be patient about MRSSA.
However, despite terming their meeting with the Governor as cordial, Synrem maintained that the agitations will continue as they could not afford to be complacent.
“Agitations will continue till we get ILP. We will be sitting for a meeting soon. We understand that this may be a political ploy of the state government as well as the Centre,” Synrem added.
“We want the Centre to immediately implement ILP,” Synrem said, recalling that the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution in December 2019 to urge the Centre to implement ILP in the state.
Earlier in the day, the CoMSO held a sit-in against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and in support of ILP. The protests were held in several parts of the state including Malki Ground in Shillong.
In Garo Hills the sit-in demonstration was spearheaded by the Garoland State Movement Committee and held outside the premises of the DC’s offices in Tura, Williamnagar and Resubelpara as students and womenfolk held up placards and took part in the day-long protests.
“On one hand, the indigenous tribals have been witnessing gradual eroding of their culture, tradition, social, political and economical rights, while on the other, the benefits are being taken over by non-locals who have settled down in our state by taking advantage of the absence of ILP,” said CoMSO vice chairman and GSMC leader Nikman Ch Marak while speaking to The Shillong Times.
He said that there is widespread fear among the tribals of Meghalaya that a situation akin to that of Tripura and Assam could unfold in the years to come.
Questioning the decision of the central government to impose ILP in Manipur, this year, after a brief period of protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the CoMSO leader reminded that the same demand had been sought in Meghalaya for the last several years.
The CoMSO also held a rally and a sit-in at Mawkyrwat. The rally was organised from Dak Bangla, Mawkyrwat to the junction of the DC’s office, Laitlawsang where they held their sit-in.
President of HANM South West Khasi Hills, Twaiding Thongni criticised the Government of India saying that “if Manipur, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh were given ILP, what is the problem in giving the same law to Meghalaya”.
Leaders of various pressure groups addressed the gathering during the sit-in protest.