SHILLONG, Dec 17 - Chief Minister Conrad Sangma today said the State Government would adopt a resolution in the Assembly to urge the Centre to implement the inner line permit (ILS) system in Meghalaya.
The Chief Minister said the decision to adopt the Assembly resolution was conveyed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a meeting that a Meghalaya Cabinet delegation had with him (Shah), in New Delhi.
Sangma clarified that the State cannot issue a notification to implement the ILP system in Meghalaya, as is being demanded by some quarters. He added that in the preamble to the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR), the areas where the regulation can be notified and implemented are defined.
The Chief Minister said, �The preamble has been changed in the past by Presidential notifications. On December 11, 2019, Manipur was added. Till the name of Meghalaya is inserted in the preamble, it will not be possible (to just issue a notification)�.
Meanwhile, the resolution on the ILP system will be tabled in the special session of the Meghalaya Assembly due to the demand of NGOs which want the ILP implemented in the State after the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in the Parliament.
There have been protests throughout the State capital and elsewhere with cases of arson, vandalism and stone pelting reported. These incidents compelled the district administration of East Khasi Hills to clamp curfew in areas under two police stations here. Mobile Internet has also been suspended in the entire State.
Admitting �disturbances in the State in the past four-five days,� the Chief Minister said that things are now moving towards normalcy to a large extent.
�Obviously, a lot of discussions have taken place and a lot of steps are being taken and the Government is also very firm� So I think these steps are getting a positive response and these disturbances and tension have come down to a large extent,� Sangma said.
Admitting the inconvenience caused to the public due to the suspension of mobile Internet, the Chief Minister said that the Government would wait for a while and lift the suspension.
Sangma requested the citizens to bear with the Government so that it can ensure that law and order is maintained. The Chief Minister also lauded the police for exercising maximum restraint in the past few days.
