Inner Line Permit only way to curb influx: Hynniewtrep Youth Council, Shillong

A Correspondent

Shillong : The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) on Friday said that the Inner Line Permit (ILP) was the only solution to curb unabated influx into Meghalaya.

HYC general secretary Roy Kupar Synrem said that the council was not satisfied with the infiltration check gates and the entry-exit points proposed as alternative mechanisms to the ILP. Synrem pointed out that at the entry and exit points what the authorities will do is ask for the EPIC (electoral photo identity card) of the persons entering the state.

“But what we have seen in Assam is that those listed in the EPIC do not find their names in the NRC,” he said.

Synrem also pointed out that with 40 lakh people in Assam left out of the NRC, there is a clear possibility that those fleeing that state and trying to settle in Meghalaya.

He also sounded warning bells over the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016 of the Central government.

“If this bill is passed most Hindus from Bangladesh will seek refuge in India and the indigenous people of Meghalaya will be overwhelmed,” Synrem added.

He also said that their motive to enter the compound of the state secretariat on Friday morning was to awaken the state government from its slumber.

HYC, general secretary Roy Kupar Synrem said that the youth body had submitted a list of demands, but the Government has not yet called them for discussion. “We needed to show something to the Government so that it wakes up to our demands,” the HYC general secretary added.