Shillong, Nov 21: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Sunday said the state government will continue to press for the implementation of Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Meghalaya with the Centre.

Speaking to reporters here, Sangma said, “We have done our part in passing the resolution and will continue to press before the Government of India.”

He also refused to agree that the NGOs were accusing the state government over the delay to implement of ILP and said “Whenever I speak to them (NGOs), they have told me that they have appreciated the fact that this government has at least taken the step to pass the resolution.”

The Meghalaya Legislative Assembly had passed the ILP resolution in December 2019 following the pressure after the Centre’s decision to pass the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which seeks to provide citizenship to immigrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Sangma also said, “The past government have said that they don’t need the ILP. The past government in fact had never taken any step to move a resolution for it but this government has done it.”

“Therefore, we are working towards it. Everybody knows that it is not a proposal or rule that can be put in by the state government, we need the Centre to do it… So we are pursuing with the central government and it is a process and we hope that will be able to move it forward but it is something which is difficult for me to say something at my level here,” he added.