SHILLONG, July 1: In a departure from the usual political playbook, former Cabinet Minister and senior NPP leader Ampareen Lyngdoh has refused to make populist promises on the Inner Line Permit (ILP), instead bluntly telling the people that only the central government has the power to implement it.
While several political parties have been playing to the gallery by assuring voters, time and again, that they would enforce the ILP if voted to power, Lyngdoh chose a different path by openly acknowledging the state’s constitutional limitations and warning against misleading the public.
Her remarks come amid claims by the VPP that the state government could have implemented the ILP simply through a notification, without the need for an Assembly resolution, as the provision already exists in the Preamble of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.
Lyngdoh, however, pointed out that the words “Khasi and Jaintia” were removed/omitted from the Preamble through a Presidential order days before the Meghalaya Assembly adopted the resolution on ILP on December 19, 2019. She described the timing as suspicious and alleged that the move was aimed at shifting the blame onto the Centre.
Speaking to media persons, she said political parties should stop making unrealistic assurances on the issue.
“It is wrong to make such assurances to the people. Political parties should not take the public for a ride on this matter,” she said, adding that constitutional complexities make it impossible for the state government to implement the ILP on its own.
In 2019, the Meghalaya Assembly had passed a resolution urging the Centre to implement the ILP in the state. Despite multiple delegations meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Centre has not taken any decision on the matter so far.
