UDP bats for new approach for implementation of ILP

SHILLONG, April 14: The United Democratic Party (UDP) on Sunday accentuated the need to adopt a new approach and strategy for the implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in the state, while maintaining that the past efforts have not yielded desirable outcomes.
Suggesting that there is a need to exert more political pressure and strike the right chord, UDP general secretary Jemino Mawthoh recalled how the State Assembly had passed the unanimous resolution for the implementation of ILP while the pressure groups have been persistently pursuing the demand.
“Most of the states in the Northeast have ILP. BJP-ruled Manipur state got ILP. Centre has to now listen to the cry of the indigenous people for their protection without discriminating the genuine non-tribal settlers in the state,” he added.
Stating that there is a need to discern the best mechanism to cushion the state from the impact of influx, Mawthoh said, “Till now, we have not evolved any mechanism to check influx and we are stuck with unrest that affects all the citizens of the state.”
“We need to stick together not just for ILP but also for language inclusion,” he added.
It may be mentioned that in 2019, the state Assembly came together to pass a resolution to urge the Centre for the implementation of the ILP.
Several meetings between the state leadership, prime minister, and the union home minister have been held but to no avail.
Even the pressure groups have set the implementation of the ILP as the primary condition for allowing an ambitious railway project in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills.