SHILLONG, Feb 21: The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) has reiterated its demand for implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Meghalaya while making it clear that it would not settle for anything less.
“Our stand is clear. We passed a resolution in the House to support the resolution passed by the Assembly to urge the Centre to implement ILP in Meghalaya,” KHADC Chief Executive Member Titosstarwell Chyne said on Sunday.
Asserted that their primary demand is implementation of the ILP, Chyne added that other mechanisms like the MRSSA is also important as it would add a layer of insulation from the decades-old problem of influx.
Recalling that Chief Minister Conrad Sangma along with his Cabinet colleagues had gone to New Delhi and informed that they met the Union Home Minister to discuss the ILP and the MRSSA, Chyne said, “I hope that the state government has done its job well enough.”
Pointing out that the Union Home minister will come for a two-day visit to Shillong in March to meet and discuss the issue of ILP with the stakeholders, Chyne said, “We hope that the Union Home minister will understand our feelings and the reason behind our intensified demand for ILP”.
It may be mentioned that 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 ILP.
They have viewed his upcoming visit to the state as a delay tactic.
While the chief minister has expressed hope that Shah’s proposed meeting next month with the pro-ILP groups will result in a positive solution, the Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organisations (CoMSO), which is spearheading the ILP demand, has already announced that they will intensify their agitation against the Centre’s dilly-dally on the contentious issue.