SHILLONG, JUN 29: BJP legislator AL Hek on Monday said efforts are underway at both the party and government levels to push for an Inner Line Permit in Meghalaya, but any mechanism adopted must avoid “one-sided restriction” and safeguard tourism as well as transit movement through the state.
“At our level and from the government level, we are pursuing that. The government should consider this, but there have to be dos and don’ts. It cannot be a one-sided restriction. It should benefit the people who are coming to this side and also benefit the state for development through the tourists coming to the state of Meghalaya,” the Pynthorumkhrah MLA told reporters.
Hek underscored the need to keep interstate routes open. “Even if it is a transit state, it should not be a one-sided restriction. Restrictions have to factor in people coming from transiting states. Suppose someone is going from here to Guwahati and then to Silchar, that also we should look after. That should not be disrupted. There must be smooth flow,” he said.
Turning to the demand for constitutional recognition of local languages, Hek said the BJP has again written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking inclusion of Khasi and Garo in the Eighth Schedule.
“We had written a letter recently to the prime minister to include the Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India,” he said.
According to Hek, the language that meets all laid-down criteria should be prioritized.
“Whoever fulfills all the criteria should be given priority. If the Khasi language has fulfilled all criteria or the Garo language has fulfilled all criteria, they have to be given priority. If both fulfill all criteria, then both should be considered,” he stated.
“If either of them has not fulfilled all criteria as required under the Eighth Schedule, then whichever fulfills the criteria should be granted and included under the Eighth Schedule to recognize the Khasi and Garo languages,” he added.
On the status of the request, Hek said no reply has been received so far.
“We have not received any response yet, but we have sent the letter not only from my side but also from the BJP Meghalaya president’s office. We also requested that whichever of these two languages fulfills all the criteria should be given priority,” he said.
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