Shillong, Jun 10: Former minister and Pynthorumkhrah MLA Alexander Laloo Hek said that he has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to invite all stakeholders and hear their suggestions before taking up the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment (FCRA) Bill 2026.
Hek, one of only two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs in the state, also informed that he had a meeting with the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) in New Delhi and on June 8 he met representatives of the North East India Christian Council (NEICC) to discuss the FCRA.
The FCRA amendments are worrying certain institutions, including Christian religious bodies who are anxious that they will impose draconian rules on foreign funding.
Meanwhile, on the issue of mechanisms to check illegal immigration like Inner Line Permit (ILP) and Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA), Hek said that the government should implement a system that is reasonable and beneficial for all sections of citizens.
“First we need to see the interest of the people of Meghalaya and also we need to see the safety and interest of people who are coming into the state, particularly the tourists,” he said.
Hek also said that while the state government has notified the Meghalaya Official Languages Ordinance 2026, which officially grants Khasi and Garo full state language status alongside English, there is also need to pursue with the Centre the inclusion of these languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. The BJP, part of the ruling coalition, is also pursuing this matter on its own.
