Khun Hynñiewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) leader Thomas Passah feels that the unanimous resolution on the Inner Line Permit (ILP) passed by the Assembly in 2019 was only to mislead the people of Meghalaya.
“The terms of our 60 MLAs are over with not even a little hope for the implementation of the ILP in the state of Meghalaya,” Passah told Highland Post today. “This clearly indicates that the unanimous resolution passed by the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly was not to implement ILP but to only calm down the various agitations and an obvious fact that all the 60 MLAs have misled the people of the state on ILP.”
KHNAM, which had just one MLA in the outgoing Assembly (but who has now switched allegiance to a different party), has decided not to contest the February 27 election.
“Since the passing of the resolution we have not seen any seriousness and concrete steps taken by the government, the political parties or any of the MLA on this ILP issue but now the same parties and MLAs have kept ILP as an agenda in their manifesto, which is nothing but a fresh bait to fool the people again to win elections,” Passah stated.
He added that the removal of “Khasi-Jaintia” from the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1874, which makes the ILP a reality, is a clear violation of clause (3) (a) of the Article 372 – Quote “Nothing in clause (2) shall be deemed – (a) to empower the President to make any adaptation or modification of any law after the expiration of (three years) from the commencement of the Constitution…”
He said that the Meghalaya government and the political parties in the state should have challenged such a notification by the President since the power to modify or make an amendment with regard to such pre-Constitution laws at any point of time lies only with Parliament.
“The same [Chief Minister] Conrad K Sangma who said ILP is a 100-year old law is also the same CM who passed the resolution for ILP, which amounts to double standards, and that’s the reason our government has not pressed hard enough on the resolution passed,” Passah said, concluding that ILP has been the top most priority of KHNAM since 2002 and it will always be.
