Meghalaya: Jemino criticizes Mukul for silence on ILP during CM tenure

By Ibankyntiew Mawrie

SHILLONG:

United Democratic Party (UDP) leader Jemino Mawthoh, on Wednesday, said opposition leader Mukul Sangma remained silent on the Inner Line Permit (ILP) during his chief ministership and was “playing to the gallery” now.

“The Mukul government had constituted a high-level committee (HLC) in 2012 with Bindo Lanong as chairman. There was a deliberation with all stakeholders including NGOs, traditional heads, ministers and district councils. The committee collectively recommended ILP. The Congress did nothing after that,” Mawthoh told TNT-The Northeast Today.

“They did not facilitate any discussion with the centre for pursuing the matter. It was only when the MDA government came to power that at least a resolution was passed in 2019 and a discussion with the centre is taking place,” he added.

Mawthoh, also the former legislator of Shillong’s Nongthymmai constituency, said that all political parties were on the same page when the recommendation was given by the HLC and “yet Mukul was silent.”

The HLC, set up in 2012 by the Congress-led government, had criticized the decisions of Sangma then for rejecting the recommendations on ILP. Deputy Chief Minister Bindo Lanong, who was the chairman of the HLC, had also said that the “constitution of the committee was a waste” due to an unfavourable response.

To simply understand the ILP, it is a travel document required by people to travel to a state where the system exists. Currently, the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram have the implementation of ILP, with the centre extending the same to Manipur in December last year following its implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act.

The demand for ILP in Meghalaya has been a long-pending issue, with the state sharing a major portion of its border with Bangladesh from where illegal immigration has been highlighted as a concern by various stakeholders of the state.

On Wednesday, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said that Governor Satya Pal Malik would visit Delhi post-December 17 to discuss the issue of ILP and Meghalaya Residents' Safety and Security Act (MRSSA) (Amendment) Bill, 2020, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other central leaders.

(Edited by Anirban Paul)

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