SHILLONG, Jan 12: Opposition Congress on Tuesday accused the state’s coalition government of sleeping over the demand of implementation of Inner Line Permit (ILP) even after unanimously passing a resolution in this regard in 2019.
“In the last Assembly session, the government was caught napping. It was not following up the matter after the House had unanimously passed a resolution,” Leader of the Opposition, Mukul Sangma said.
Stating that the ILP’s implementation became imperative after the passage of the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), Sangma said, “The government should keep pressing the Centre to implement it in the state”.
He said people’s apprehension pertaining to CAA is genuine and there is a need to have the ILP to address the issue of influx of immigrants. He said nothing much seemed to have been done on the ground despite an assurance by the government in the House to pursue it with the Centre.
Sangma and Congress’s Shillong MP, Vincent Pala hold divergent views on ILP.
Pala said he will not succumb to pressure from anyone to pursue ILP with the Centre unless it is a modified regulation that does not affect employment while ensuring protection. He made the remark responding to the demand of some pressure groups that the MPs from the state must raise the ILP issue in Parliament.
