SHILLONG, Jan 12: More than two years since an entire House of MLAs passed a resolution urging Centre to implement Inner Line Permit (ILP) in the state but to no effect, as no action has been taken in this regard till date. But hopes are still up.
The Congress has urged the BJP-led central government to implement ILP in Meghalaya as a gift to the people of the state on January 21 when the state will celebrate its 50th year of statehood.
Congress MLA from Mawlai, PT Sawkmie, on Wednesday told The Shillong Times that they expect the Centre to give ILP as a gift to Meghalaya. He also said that since the Union government seems to be adamantly against implementation of ILP in the state, the party wants the chief minister to lead a delegation of all 60 MLAs to the national capital and meet the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister.
Recalling that the Union Home Minister in 2019 had advised Chief Minister Conrad Sangma to go back and celebrate Christmas while the latter was at Delhi over ILP issue, Sawkmie said that now it is the duty of the Chief Minister to lead the state in seeking ILP for Meghalaya. “We will appreciate if the Chief Minister leads the delegation, it will also show his sincerity on the matter,” Sawkmie said.
It may be noted despite the resolution and mounting pressure from pressure groups for ILP in the state, the central government has not come clean about its stand on the matter till date.