By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Sep 5: As the clamour for ILP in Meghalaya continues to live despite Centre sitting on the matter for a prolonged period of time, Leader of Opposition Ronnie V Lyngdoh has emphasised that a system such as ILP is needed to tackle influx, but it should not hamper the development of the state.
“We have to look at it from both sides and carefully since we need protection to ensure that a microscopic population of the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo communities is not overwhelmed by the majority community,” the Leader of Opposition said while speaking to The Shillong Times on Tuesday.
He recalled that Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had led a delegation from the state to Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other central leaders to impress upon the Centre the demand for implementation of ILP and the inclusion of the Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
The LO felt that the state government should keep pursuing the two long-pending demands with the Centre aggressively. “But we really don’t know what is in the mind of the Centre as far as these issues are concerned,” he added.
It may be recalled that on August 8, a high-level delegation, led by the CM, had met PM Modi and sought his personal intervention in implementing ILP in Meghalaya.
The delegation submitted a resolution, adopted unanimously in the state Assembly in 2019 for ILP’s implementation, to the PM and sought his intervention.
Several pressure groups in Meghalaya have been demanding ILP for the past many years.