The Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organisations (CoMSO) on Monday thanked the opposition Congress for realising the need to implement Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Meghalaya.
The CoMSO stated that the stand of political parties and organisations in the past should not be recalled, but efforts should be made to move forward.
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CoMSO, a conglomerate of several organizations, went to meet Congress legislators and held a meeting at the MLA hostel in Shilong to seek the party’s support to the long-pending demand for implementing ILP in Meghalaya.
“We held this meeting with them to seek their support for ILP. We are glad that the CLP now has shared the same mind that they will support ILP and we welcome their decision,” CoMSO chairman Robertjune Kharjahrin told reporters.
Congress has opposed the demand to implement ILP in Meghalaya a few years ago despite a series of violent agitations in 2013.
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The then Congress-led government instead stressed the need to implement “comprehensive mechanisms” to check influx and brought out the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA), 2016.
CoMSO, however, rejected the Act on the ground that it did not have teeth to regulate the entry of people into the state, and demanded an amendment to ensure that ILP provisions are incorporated into the Act.
In November this year, the Meghalaya Cabinet amended the Act through an ordinance that seeks mandatory registration of outsiders into the state.
The ordinance is yet to get the governor’s assent.
Kharjahrin said CoMSO would try to meet representatives of all political parties, but due to time constraints, it may not be possible to meet all of them.
“We, therefore, urge all political parties to support the resolution on ILP in the state Assembly when the special session is convened,” the CoMSO leaders said.
Meanwhile, the leader of Opposition, Mukul Sangma told reporters that the Congress would continue to oppose the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019.
He also said they would find other ways and means to ensure that the Act is not implemented in the state
But he said keeping in mind the move of the Centre to implement the Act, the ILP now has become a necessity.
He also said the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA), 2016 was designed by the previous state government to take care of the concerns of the people and protect the state in which ILP can complement with MRSSA.
Mukul Sangma also stressed the need to extend the provisions of the Sixth Schedule to the non-schedule areas.
Meanwhile, the former CM announced that his party would continue to hold protests across the state against the CAA, 2019.
He also hit out at the NPP-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government for resorting to mobile internet shutdown due to violent and unrest in the city in view of the CAA.