Shillong: The Meghalaya BJP on Friday called on the state and central governments to enforce the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA) to protect the state from illegal immigration, saying proper implementation of the law could serve as a strong anti-influx measure.
State BJP general secretary Wankitbok Pohshna said that discussions on introducing an “ILP-like mechanism” lack clarity on its practical details.
He added that the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly had passed a resolution in December 2019 seeking an Inner Line Permit (ILP) and called on authorities to prioritise enforcing the MRSSA rather than introducing new proposals without detailed planning.
The MRSSA allows local authorities to maintain registers and monitor tenants and non-local residents at the grassroots level.
Pohshna said mandatory local-level tenant registration could be more effective than vague proposals, though he admitted he had not reviewed the specifics of the proposed ILP-like system.
According to officials, the ILP-like system remains a proposal, while the MRSSA is an existing legal framework that can achieve similar goals if properly enforced.
The Union government has reportedly responded positively to Meghalaya’s ILP-style protection proposal under the newly enacted Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.
Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said the matter was discussed in a recent meeting in New Delhi between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and a state delegation led by Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma.
Tynsong added that the state proposed a provision in the central law mirroring the existing ILP framework, effectively allowing Meghalaya to operate as a protected or restricted area under the Act.