In the wake of renewed calls by pressure groups to implement the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Meghalaya, the central government cannot “blindly” accept the demand without thorough consultations.
“This is purely a legal matter, so I am not going to comment on this issue, because it is yet to be discussed whether it is necessary, or not necessary, we cannot blindly say,” national Vice-President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Chuba Ao, said here today. “We need thorough discussions. If implemented, it (ILP) will need a lot of consultation.”
The central government is thought to be less than keen on ILP in Meghalaya as it is a tourist-heavy state (before the Covid-19 pandemic) and is a transit state for people travelling to and from Assam to Mizoram, Tripura and Assam’s Barak Valley.
