SHILLONG, Jan 10: Congress chief whip, PT Sawkmie has urged the Centre to implement Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Meghalaya, which he said, has been on the boil for far too long as the long-pending demand was yet to be fulfilled.
“Right now, from pressure groups to political leaders to the general public, everyone is agitated. For the issue to die down and things to be totally normal, the central government should consider giving ILP to Meghalaya,” said Sawkmie.
Referring to the statement made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Manipur that the ILP was a gift to that state from the Centre, Sawkmie said that the Union Home minister should not have made the statement.
“I feel the Union Home minister should treat all states with the same yardstick and gift ILP to Meghalaya also. He should understand that Meghalaya has waited very long for ILP,” the Congress chief whip said.
Sawkmie further said that the kindness shown to Manipur should be replicated in Meghalaya for things to return to normal.
“They have been kind enough to give it to Manipur. Kindly consider our state also so that normalcy prevails in Meghalaya,” he said.
The ILP agitation is gradually taking centre stage in the state, yet again.
Despite the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly unanimously passing a resolution demanding ILP in the state back on December 19, 2019, the Centre is yet to give approval for such a system till date.
The year 2020 concluded with a series of protests by various pressure groups demanding ILP and a resolution to intensify the agitation in 2021 if the Centre continued to delay its approval for the system.
Various political parties in the state have also jumped into the fray demanding the same and questioning the Centre’s approach.
While some like the BJP, an ally of the MDA coalition in the state, are already camping in New Delhi to urge the Centre for ILP, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and his Cabinet colleagues are also gearing up to fly to the national capital to pursue the demand.
