SHILLONG, Feb 10: The pressure groups in the state are livid with Union Home Minister, Amit Shah for his flip-flop over his proposed meeting with them to discuss the issue of Inner Line Permit (ILP).
They viewed his upcoming visit to the state as a delay tactic.
“Earlier, the Union Home Minister said he would call us to Delhi to hold talks. Now, he is saying that he will come to Shillong again. This is nothing but a tactic to delay (ILP’s implementation),” Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) president, Lambokstar Marngar said on Wednesday.
He said the KSU will continue with its agitations and democratic movement till the demand for the implementation of ILP is met.
“Our demand for ILP has been going on for close to 42 years. We are ready to continue the fight and will not rest,” Marngar asserted.
The Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organisations (CoMSO) chairman, Robertjune Kharjahrin said, “We are unhappy with the outcome of the meeting (Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and Deputy CM Prestone Tynsong had with Shah) and we feel that the Union Home Minister has taken the issue of ILP very lightly.”
It appears that the protection of the state’s indigenous population and their identity is not important to the government, Kharjahrin said.
He questioned the need for a discussion on the Meghalaya Residents’ Safety and Security Bill with the Centre for its implementation.
“It is a Bill framed under the state list and I do not understand why it needs to be discussed with the Home Ministry. It is wrong on the part of the former Governor (Tathagata Roy) to refer the Bill to the Home Ministry,” the CoMSO chairman said.
Stating that it set a bad precedent, he said this move undermines the powers of the state of Meghalaya and violates the federal structure of the Constitution.
Demanding Governor, Satya Pal Malik to give his assent to the Bill, Kharjahrin asked, “Why is he delaying to give his assent when he had told us the Bill is doable?”