By Albert Thyrniang
The visit of the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah on January 23 to address the plenary meeting of North Eastern Council came a cropper for the ILP enthusiasts. The Home Minister who had to cancel his visit to the city in December 2019 amid raging protests over the Citizenship Act gave the opportunity neither to the MDA Cabinet ministers nor the pro-ILP groups to raise the ‘state’ issues. The interaction with political parties and pressure groups reportedly lasted a mere two-minutes for Shah to accept memoranda and pose for photographs.
The busy Home Minister who proceeded to Guwahati the same day and then to Nalbari the next to address a political rally gave little room for IPL protagonists. The State Cabinet ministers deemed the snub a lack of respect for the people of the state revealing that they could not say anything or hear anything from the minister. The pressure groups reacted in anger and alleged they were called in like children for photos and ushered out of the room. They all expressed their resolve to continue to press for the implementation of the law that has been a demand in the state for over 40 years.
The UDP, the largest constituent in the MDA coalition was not amused and demanded that the centre should come clean on ILP. The Congress, the main Opposition, considered the action of the ‘second-in-command’ in the Modi government a disdain. Chief Minister, Conrad Sangma apparently calmed the pressure groups down by informing that Amit Shah will invite the agitating lot for talks in Delhi.
The expected/unexpected actions of the Home Minister revealed the diverse views between Delhi and Shillong on the ILP. Simply put the BJP government in Delhi sees ILP unnecessary while those in Shillong see the ILP as an absolute necessity against influx, particularly post CAA. The central government is convinced that the exemption of CAA on the state, thanks to the Sixth Schedule, is a sufficient safeguard to keep the interests of the state intact while the State Government and ‘united’ NGOs think Article 244 is incapable of shielding the state against CAA.
If the above assessment is incorrect then there is another possibility. The BJP is employing delay tactics. It is waiting for election 2023 to make an announcement. The state unit of the saffron party have not responded to the rebuff by their former president. Earlier the party had taken the ILP issue with the party’s president, JP Nadda in Delhi. The party with two MLAs in the State currently is eyeing to make a bigger impact in the next Assembly election. So is there already a ‘secret’ understanding to please the electorate just before the polls? Will the think tank of the country’s largest and richest party pull off a master stroke to come to power in the state in 2023? The likes of KHNAM MLA, Adelbert Nongrum have already publicly announced that they will join the BJP if ILP is gifted. The objection to this ‘plan’ is that it is merely for political gains. It is playing with the sentiments of people for electoral benefits. We are speaking of a hidden agenda. It is just unacceptable.
In the coming days we are going to see more of the clamour for ILP. Towards the end of last year we witnessed demonstrations, the burning of effigies of the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister. Pan Meghalaya protests must be in the offing to enlist Meghalaya under ILP regime thus joining fellow north easterners, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland and Manipur. The demand for all 60 MLAs to fly to Delhi will be heard again. The call for the Chief Minister to take his ministers to the national capital will be repeated. The plea for the Chief Minster to lead a delegation of all parties will also rent the air yet again.
A year ago all the 60 MLAs were quite literally held to ransom in the Legislative Assembly by vigil-keeping pressure groups. Not a single legislator dared to differ from the demand that ‘held sway in every one’s mind.’Had anyone done so he/she would not have escaped the wrath of the crowd. His/her house might have been gheraoed and vandalised. In the intimidating atmosphere the resolution for the implementation of the offshoot of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act, 1873 was passed unanimously.
Did all MLAs favour ILP then? Do all of them still favour the implementation of the same now? Their integrity is not questioned but in such a scary climate could a decision be wrong? Was it possible that the respected members erred for fear of political ramification thus compromising the ‘interests’ of the state? Could it be that the representatives succumbed to pressure?
Now that ILP is still illusive no one is willing to take the blame. The Chief Minister and his close confidantes do not accept they are not serious. The BJP being the same party that rules the country will not admit that they have not succeeded in impressing upon their own government to do the needful. The regional parties will not acknowledge that being partners they need to share the blame for the ILP ‘failure’. The Congress won’t confess they were not in favour of ILP during their erstwhile regimes.
If ILP is in fact granted then all will line up to take Gthe credit. The government will claim that it ensured the central government fulfills the aspirations of the state. The regional parties will acclaim themselves. The Congress will point to the total co-operation with the Government in ensuring a unanimous resolution besides the constant reminder to the government of the urgent need for ILP. The pressure groups will of course tell the world in wild celebration that it is their agitations and protests that compelled the Union Government to award ILP to Meghalaya.
It is incredible that the whole state is in unison demanding for an outdated law like the ILP. ILP is a shut and close case. There is no more second thought. There is no room for error. Everybody seems to ignore that ILP will ruin tourism and the local economy. Everyone disregards the fact that Meghalaya is a transit state and ILP is impractical. Everyone feels insecure in spite of the existing law that prohibits non-tribals from purchasing land and owing property in the state. The suggestion of an MP that a law cannot be implemented if it is anti-employment is summarily rejected. This uniformity on ILP does not auger well for the state and our thinking pattern.
The Chief Minister promised a seamless and hassle-free registration of visitors under the Meghalaya Residents Safety And Security Act (MRSSA), 2016 in Byrnihat. It has turned out otherwise. Letters have appeared in this paper of the inconveniences it caused to ordinary citizens at the facilitation centre. Any inconvenience is a discouragement for tourists. Any sort of registration will make tourists think twice before visiting the state. MRSSA has been challenged in the High Court for inconveniencing genuine citizens coming to the hill state. ILP will certainly do the same and probably worse.
ILP has displayed the distance between Delhi and Shillong. We are not speaking of the 1491 km physical distance but the gap in perspective regarding the offshoot of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act, 1873. If the BJP government in Delhi does not have a political mind it could be right in denying the nearly 150 year old law to the almost 50 year old state. Its absence could be in our collective interests.
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