Shillong, Feb 18: The House was adjourned for 10 minutes on Day 3 of the Budget session on Wednesday after a face-off between Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and VPP MLA Ardent Basaiawmoit on the issue of the Inner Line Permit (ILP).
The pandemonium started when the chief minister stood up to reply to a question raised by Leader of Opposition Mukul Sangma and was interrupted by the latter.
“Let me reply. He should not interfere,” Conrad raised his voice as Speaker Thomas Sangma tried to pacify the duo.
Mukul raised a supplementary question on whether the state government was pursuing the implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) with the Centre. “The reply should be yes or no,” Mukul continued to speak.
“If the honourable LO wants a reply, I will reply. I will give a detailed reply because it is a sensitive issue,” Conrad said, pointing his finger at Mukul.
“They have the passion to raise the issue but not the patience to listen to the reply,” he added.
Conrad insisted on a detailed reply instead of a monosyllable, as Mukul asked him to do. The former also blamed the earlier government for not pursuing the issue.
Later, Basaiawmoit said the state government was not serious about ILP implementation. “Let me justify… This very House had passed the resolution, and till today, it is yet to see the light of day,” the VPP MLA continued to explain why the state needed ILP and what threats Meghalaya has from “outsiders”. He further said that the central Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, is not for protecting Meghalaya but entry of foreigners into the country.
“I want a sincere reply from the government, whether it is playing with the sentiment of the people,” he added.
The chief minister lost his calm and shouted at the MLA, saying he had written to the Home Ministry several times. His deputy, Prestone Tynsong, also joined the kerfuffle.
The Speaker had to adjourn the House for 10 minutes.
When North Shillong VPP legislator Adelbert Nongrum accused the government of “fooling” people over ILP, Sangma shot back saying, “If anybody is fooling, it is he who is fooling. Every time he comes, but never in his life met the Union Home Minister and has not written to the Union Home Minister.”
Tynsong added: “If Adelbert says we are fooling—what do you mean by fooling? Can you prove it? Let him prove it.”
