Meghalaya pressure groups today organised sit-in demonstrations all over the state against the non-implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP), slow progress in the set up of entry-exit checkpoints, the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act and non-inclusion of the Khasi language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
Sit-ins were held in Khliehriat, Jowai, Nongpoh, Mawkyrwat, Nongstoin, Shillong, Sohra and Ichamati.
Khasi Students Union (KSU) President Lambokstar Marngar said in Shillong that the delay in implementing ILP was a slap in the face to the people of Meghalaya by the central government, which granted ILP to Manipur within the last 12 months.
The pressure groups, Marngar added, continue to remain opposed to the CAA and want the whole of the North East exempted from its purview.
He also complained about the non-inclusion of Khasi, and Garo, in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, which recognises 22 official languages in India at the last count.
Meanwhile, Hynñiewtrep National Youth Front HNYF) General Secretary Sadon Blah said that, pending the implementation of ILP, the set up of entry-exit checkpoints to curb illegal influx is of paramount importance.
He said he could not understand why before the original Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act was even made law, the government was “enthusiastic” about amending it.
