SHILLONG, July 29: PHE Minister, Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar on Thursday said Meghalaya cannot sacrifice the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution for Inner Line Permit (ILP).
“People of Meghalaya need both. We need ILP in addition to the Sixth Schedule,” Tongkhar said, reacting to a recent statement made by state BJP vice president and Tura MDC, Bernard Marak.
Marak had stated that during the meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Shillong on Saturday, he had told the party functionaries that it was up to the people of the state to decide if they need ILP or Sixth Schedule.
The statement was dismissed by state BJP president Ernest Mawrie, who termed it as Marak’s personal opinion.
Referring to the meeting of state Cabinet ministers with Shah, Tongkhar said, “He (Shah) was so occupied that we could meet him for only about ten minutes. We put forth our views and opinions on ILP, recognition of Khasi and Garo languages and amendment to the Sixth Schedule.”
Tongkhar, who is also a leader of Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP), said it was difficult to understand Shah’s mind as he said nothing and smiled occasionally. “Whatever we can do has been done and now, we are waiting for the Centre to take a call,” he said.
Asked if the Cabinet ministers have any plan to visit Delhi to pressure the Centre over the state’s demands, Tongkhar said, “I can’t say anything now as we need to take a collective decision.”
Talking about the constitution of three district border committees, the PHE Minister said, “We had requested the CM (Conrad K Sangma) to constitute the state and regional-level committees.”
The three committees – one each for Ri Bhoi, Jaintia Hills and West Khasi Hills – consist of elected representatives, members of Autonomous District Councils, traditional leaders and civil society groups. They have to submit their report within a month.
Tongkhar, who heads the committee for West Khasi Hills, said, “We will hold the first meeting of the regional committee in Nongstoin on Monday.”
“We want to include all headmen in the committee and we will conduct an inspection of the border villages to understand if the locals want to live in Assam or Meghalaya,” Tongkhar said.
The HSPDP leader said the state’s Home Minister, Lahkmen Rymbui is likely to head the Ri Bhoi committee while Transport Minister, Sniawbhalang Dhar will head the Jaintia Hills panel.
Tongkhar said, “I cannot say how successful we will be. We will go for 100% but something is always better than nothing. We do not want the problem to linger on. We want an early solution.”
‘Focus more on boundary row’
A day after pressure groups threatened a renewed stir on the demand for implementation of ILP, Tongkhar advised the pro-ILP groups to emphasize on solving the decades-old interstate boundary row with Assam.
“Both ILP and Sixth Schedule are important but at this point of time we should work towards resolving the border dispute ahead of the golden jubilee of statehood,” Tongkhar said.
He admitted that ILP issue raised by the groups is of significance but the boundary dispute is equally important. “I want everybody to be involved and work together to find a permanent solution to the border impasse,” he added.
On Wednesday, CoMSO chairman Robertjune Kharjahrin had said that they would go ahead with a state-wide movement for ILP by involving traditional heads, NGOs and the public.
He had refused to divulge the details of their agitation programme.
