SHILLONG, Dec 19: The Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organisation (CoMSO) on Saturday burnt effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam Congress legislator KD Purkayastha to mark a year of the state Assembly’s resolution to urge the Centre to implement the Inner-Line Permit (ILP) in Meghalaya.
Members of CoMSO, comprising 19 pressure groups, burnt the effigies during a protest at the Motphran parking lot.
“We are totally disappointed as the Centre has not implemented ILP even a year after the Meghalaya Assembly unanimously passed the resolution,” said CoMSO chairman Robert Kharjahrin.
Alluding to the ILP gift to Manipur, he wondered if the Centre considers the people of Meghalaya as Indians. ILP has been in force in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland for a long time.
CoMSO secretary Roykupar Synrem said, “It is very sad that we have had to come out on the streets again after the massive protest last year. We had hoped the Centre would listen to the demand of the people but the Union Home Ministry has not given any positive response till now.”
He said they were not happy with the way the Centre was handling the issue.
“All that we hear is that they are examining the matter. We will keep protesting until ILP is implemented in Meghalaya,” he added.
Synrem said that they met the Governor and made their stand on the Meghalaya Resident Safety and Security (Amendment) Act clear.
“The Governor has gone to Delhi to discuss with the (Union) Home Minister and we expect the MRSSA to be implemented after he returns. If that does not happen we will continue with the protest,” he said.
General Secretary of the All Khasi Hill Achik Federation, John Sangma echoed similar sentiments and said that the state legislators should take the protest to New Delhi if the Centre remains adamant.
He also said the agitations will cease only if the aspirations of the people are met. The CoMSO would be taking out a torch rally on December 30 as part of their ongoing protest against the delay in implementing ILP in the state.