Shillong, Dec 20: The Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government will soon meet the Centre to push for immediate implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in the state.
“We will not delay our visit to New Delhi, we will rush immediately to inform the Central government about the passing of the ILP resolution by the House,†MDA member and chairman of the state planning board Lambor Malngiang told reporters here on Friday.
The Assembly had on Thurdsay unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Centre to implement ‘The Inner Line’ under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873 in Meghalaya to safeguard the interests of the indigenous people of the state.
The resolution has also sought necessary amendment to the BEFR, 1873 for inclusion of “Meghalaya†in its preamble.
Malngiang informed that the chief minister Conrad K Sangma will lead a delegation of the MDA government to New Delhi after December 25.
Asked whether ILP will be a new year’s gift for Meghalaya, the chairman of the planning board however said, “We cannot say we will get ILP overnight but we have done our best and we have to process it in a proper manner.â€
He said that Manipur recently got ILP after having to wait five long years.
The demand to implement ILP has been pending for several years in Meghalaya.
Earlier while supporting the ILP resolution during the special session, the opposition Congress had also demanded the state government to give a deadline to the Centre for consideration of the resolution.
The resolution was also passed following massive protests against the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 which seeks to provide citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from three countries Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
