From CK Nayak
NEW DELHI, March 15: The long-pending demand for Inner Line permit in Meghalaya is likely to feature prominently during a meeting between Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and Home Minister Amit Shah in Guwahati on Sunday.
The Union Home Ministry has convened a meeting of chief ministers of the Northeastern states to discuss the implementation of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in the region.
Sangma plans to raise the issue of ILP in the state, as the big-ticket sanctioned railway line linking Shillong from Byrnihat has been withdrawn.
He hopes to discuss the issue with stakeholders like KSU, pressure groups, and civil societies to allow the vital railway project.
The Meghalaya Assembly had passed a resolution in support of ILP in 2019, but logistical issues have not been met.
The demand for ILP in Meghalaya has been around for over a decade, but the introduction of the Citizenship Amendment Act sparked a renewed demand for the permit system in the state to control the influx.
Since the CAA does not cover the entire hill state, various groups have called for the introduction of ILP to prevent the spillover effect from other states, particularly Assam.
Pressure groups have expressed concerns about the ineffectiveness of the CAA exemption and the potential unjustified influx of people into the state.
They suggest that the only defence against this spillover effect is the immediate introduction of the ILP system and the complete exemption of CAA in Meghalaya.
The Khasi Students’ Union has been warning the central and state governments that if they don’t take immediate action, the union will take matters into their own hands and introduce the ILP system in Meghalaya.
The students’ union has promised to keep up its fight against illegal immigration in different parts of the state and to look for the assistance of the local indigenous people in their fight for ILP.
They are also adamant about not allowing railway projects in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills without a foolproof mechanism against influx. The union insists on ILP coverage for Meghalaya before the railway projects can be discussed.
Although the Meghalaya Assembly passed a resolution to introduce ILP in December 2019, the matter is still pending with the Union Home Ministry.
While the uncertainty surrounding the implementation of ILP continues, the state government recently said it is important to strengthen the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA) for addressing concerns relating to the influx of people from Bangladesh.
The ILP is an official travel document issued for movement in some areas for a limited period, and people need it to travel to Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Manipur.