Shillong East MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh has lauded the maturity shown by pressure groups in the fight to implement the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Meghalaya.
The opposition legislator was a minister in the previous Congress government which had to weather a prolonged period of bandhs, night road blockades and other disruptions to normal life in the last intense campaign for ILP, which began in 2014.
“The NGOs of this generation have become much more mature, with no call to completely shut down the lives of the people,” Lyngdoh said.
“There are so many forms of protest and every protest does not entail a complete shutdown of communities. We cannot bring all work and life to a standstill and protests must be demonstrated peacefully,” she added.
Pressure groups in Meghalaya had restarted their campaign for the introduction of ILP in the State after the Centre pushed through the Citizenship Amendment Act through Parliament.
Although the State Assembly passed a resolution in favour of ILP, the Centre has yet to accede to the demand.
Meanwhile, Lyngdoh said that she is disappointed by the level of communication by the State government on the progress, or lack of it, on the ILP.
“Governments cannot govern without sharing information with the public they represent and it was the job of the opposition to remind the government of all important issues that are pending,” she added.
