Those members of the Khasi community who are opposed to the introduction of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Meghalaya are “Shillong-centric” people who are “least bothered and who have forgotten about their roots and traditions,” the Secretary of the Meghalaya Congress, Bajop Pyngrope, told Highland Post today.
Pyngrope who is also the MDC of Rambrai Jyrngam said it was only these people who would try and “mislead” others by claiming that ILP will affect the State’s tourism economy.
“We have faced the Covid-19 pandemic and we have seen people adapt to social distancing, long queues in shops, etc and I don’t think that people from outside cannot adapt to ILP if they want to come to Meghalaya and witness its scenic beauty,” Pyngrope said hopefully while demanding that the State government show some strength in approaching the Central government to implement the colonial era law in Meghalaya.
Although largely sympathetic to the agitations of pressure groups for ILP, the MDC did advise them not to generalise all non-tribals as outsiders or Bangladeshis.
However, he took a strong line on the need to combat the menace of illegal immigration.
“We should support and fight for ILP democratically by not harming anyone and without violence and we must not be misled by those illegal infiltrators that have mostly populated Shillong city,” Pyngrope stated.
“Our population is microscopic and we have every right to protect ourselves from illegal infiltrators from outside,” he added.
Pyngrope also spoke for “genuine” non-Khasis by saying that they “also love Meghalaya like our own people” and thus support ILP for the State.
