Shillong, Jan 23: Meghalaya Government as well as various organisations have submitted memorandums to Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Shillong, even though, due to his tight schedule no discussion took place.

Informing this, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said that the union home minister has assured to meet both the Cabinet and the pressure groups in New Delhi.

“On the insistence of the government of Meghalaya that at least opportunity to hand over the memorandums should be given and he agreed to that and based on that we submitted one memorandum from the government and the organizations also submitted their memorandums to the union home minister,” he said.

Stating that the coordination has to be done through the Chief Minister’s office, Sangma said, “He (Shah) has conveyed through me that he will be happy to meet the Cabinet and the other organizations in Delhi. He has asked my office to coordinate and based on which we will be seeking an appointment now to go to Delhi maybe sometimes when the parliament starts.”

During his official visit to the state, Shah met a delegation of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) Cabinet as well as the pressure groups. He however could not hold any discussion but only assured to meet them very soon in New Delhi.

Confused over the turn of the event, leaders of the different pressure groups immediately sought clarification from chief minister Conrad K Sangma in a meeting held at the main secretariat.

After the meeting, Sangma told reporters that due to certain programmes that came up in Assam, Shah’s programme changed and he had to go back.

“So based on that there was a change in the appointments and the Home Minister’s office requested that he may not be able to sit down with the Cabinet and the organisations who had sought the appointment,” Sangma added.

Asked if the centre is serious in implementing ILP in Meghalaya, the CM however said, “We will be discussing that when we go to Delhi as we were not able to discuss these matters today.”

In the memorandum submitted to Shah, Sangma said, “We (MDA) have reiterated the resolution was passed by the state Assembly for ILP implementation and we have urged the Centre to consider that. We have also mentioned about the Sixth Schedule and inclusion of Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India.”

Meanwhile, several pressure groups, who are demanding implementation of Inner Line Permit (ILP), on Saturday expressed disappointment after they were not given time to discuss the issue with the union home minister, Amit Shah.

The pressure groups which met the union home minister includes the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP), and Hynniewtrep National Youth Front (HNYF) and Confederation of Social Organizations of Meghalaya (CoMSO).