SHILLONG, JUL 1: The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) has told the state government it will take matters into its own hands if key laws to check influx remain unimplemented, KSU president Raymond Kharjana said on Wednesday following a meeting with Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma.
The union’s central executive body called on the Chief Minister to push for its 20-point charter of demands, which was submitted earlier both online and offline.
“The discussion was quite lengthy,” Kharjana said.
ILP topped the agenda. “We have made our stand clear regarding the implementation of the Inner Line Permit,” Kharjana said.
He said the Chief Minister informed them that the Centre is yet to clear it.
“The Chief Minister said the matter is pending before the Central government and assured us that the state government will continue to press the Centre for its immediate implementation in Meghalaya,” he said.
The KSU also opposed what it called attempts to weaken the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA).
“We discussed the issue related to the MRSSA. In the past few days, there have been attempts to convert the facilitation centre, or entry-exit point, into a food court. We have made our stand clear on this issue — we will not allow any organization or the government to convert the facilitation centre into a food court,” Kharjana said. Passed in 2016, the MRSSA has not been enforced, he said.
“There has been so much delay in implementing it. The Chief Minister expressed certain difficulties, saying the matter clashes with central laws and is pending assent from the Governor,” Kharjana said.
But the union demanded full execution.
“We have made it clear that we want the government to fully implement the entry-exit points mandated by the MRSSA,” he said. He stressed that the Act is ineffective without infrastructure.
“To implement the MRSSA, entry-exit points are needed to check unabated influx into the state. Without the entry-exit points, implementing the MRSSA is meaningless,” Kharjana said.
The 2020 Migrant Workers Act also came up. “In the past few years, the union has submitted suggestions to incorporate necessary provisions to strengthen the Act. Unfortunately, we are yet to see its full implementation,” he said.
On this, Kharjana said the government agreed to a core demand.
“The Chief Minister assured that the government will take steps to implement the Act. Our suggestion was simple — ensure police verification of migrant workers coming to work in our state. The government has accepted this, and I hope we will see its effective implementation,” he said.
Kharjana expressed dismay at the repeated delays. “Till date, we have not seen any law to prevent the unabated flow of influx into the state. If we talk about ILP, the reply is that the matter is pending with the Centre. If we talk about MRSSA, we get the same response. If we talk about the Migrant Workers Act, it is similar,” he said.
He said the union’s patience is running out. “We want to send a clear message: if the government cannot implement these laws to safeguard the rights and identity of the indigenous community, the union will be compelled to implement these laws on its own to protect the interest of the indigenous community,” Kharjana said. While some assurances were given, talks will continue.
“There are issues which the Chief Minister assured to resolve in the coming days and weeks, and there are issues that need further discussion,” he said.
Asked if the KSU would issue an ultimatum, Kharjana said that stage has passed.
“These are long-pending demands. It is not a question of giving an ultimatum anymore. It is simple — if you cannot implement these laws, the union will have no other option but to use its own wisdom on how to implement them. At that time, you cannot say the union is indulging in illegal activities,” he said.
