The central government could try and remove Sixth Schedule protections from Meghalaya if it is to sanction the Inner Line Permit (ILP) for the state, Shillong MP Vincent Pala has told Highland Post.
Pala said that Meghalaya’s case is not like Manipur (a state where the Centre gave its nod for ILP around two years ago) because, unlike Meghalaya, Manipur does not come under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
The MP and state Congress Party president said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders are of the opinion that a thorough examination would have to be conducted before allowing a state with Sixth Schedule and ILP protections.
The Meghalaya Assembly had unanimously voted for a resolution in favour of ILP at the end of 2019. However, the central government has not ruled on the request.
While this does not necessarily mean that Meghalaya has to choose between the ILP and Sixth Schedule, Pala fears that pushing for the former might cost the state the latter.
“I feel that the Union Home Ministry should send experts on this matter to find out the impact (of having ILP and Sixth Schedule protections),” he added.