Shillong, Dec 17: Peeved with the Meghalaya government over alleged attempts at delaying the inauguration of the entry and exit points at Umling, in Ri Bhoi District, four organizations in the state have threatened to take it upon themselves to open the entry and exit points to demand the implementation of the Inner Line Permit and the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA).
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had earlier informed that the entry and exit points would be ready for functioning by December 16th which has now been deferred to the 21st of this month.
Threat to open the two points was given during a protest by four organizations consisting of Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP), Ri Bhoi Youth Federation (RBYF) and Hynniewtrep National Youth Front (HNYF) at Shillong’s Motphran point on Thursday.
The president of the KSU, Lambokstarwell Marngar, during the protest said that the demand for ILP is a movement of the public and no organizations should take credit for it at this point.
Marngar also said, “If serving the jaitbynriew is deemed as illegal then we take a decision that we will continue our illegal activities for the protection of our state.”
The president of FKJGP, Wellbirth Rani, who attended the protest with members of his organization also took to the stage and announced that, “We will decide here (at the meeting) that if the government does not inaugurate the entry and exit point on December 21, we will open it on our own and take over so that it can function from December 21”. His statement was endorsed by the agitating protestors.
Accusing the non-tribal groups of creating an air of confusion regarding the ILP demand in the state, the KSU chief said that the indigenous community ought to be ready with the implementation of its own ILP mechanism.
He took a swipe at the Central government and said the Citizenship (Amendment) Act is a “virus” from Delhi and to deal with the virus is the implementation of ILP by the central government. His comments were given an endorsement by Rani, the FKJGP president.
Taking a dig at the delegation of the state government who met the Union Home Minister Amit Shah to apprise him of the demand for ILP, Rani said, “They went there to seek funds and not with the intention to protect the state”.
