SHILLONG, Jan 17: The Opposition Congress on Sunday said the onus was on the state government to defend the under-scrutiny Meghalaya Resident Safety and Security Act (MRSSA) to ensure its implementation.
“The MRSSA is facing legal scrutiny and this was expected. Now it is for the government to defend this scrutiny to the hilt to ensure that the people of Meghalaya get the MRSSA they asked for,” said Congress MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh, hoping that the government would have the best legal team.
She was reacting to the accusation of the National People’s Party that the Congress had been sleeping over ILP and other issues for decades.
“I think the NGOs will stand witness to our efforts in ensuring that ILP is implemented in Meghalaya but there were so many hurdles,” she said.
One of the hurdles, she pointed out, was the repealing of the “archaic” Bengal Eastern Frontier Act in the undivided Assam that included present-day Meghalaya.
“We had several rounds of meetings with all political leaders including the NPP and other stakeholders. In fact, ECB Bamon and James Sangma were involved in the discussions. How can the NPP president forget this?” Lyngdoh said.
She added that the NPP leaders had joined the NGOs then in giving the Congress the go-ahead for designing the MRSSA that is now facing legal scrutiny.
“The NPP-led government is now expected to defend it,” she said.
Lyngdoh also recalled the late Purno A. Sangma – as a Nationalist Congress Party leader – having joined the Congress in discussing the ILP issue.
“Just because it is under pressure now, the government should not belittle or disregard the efforts of the governments of the past for the implementation of ILP in the state,” she said.