Shillong, Dec 31: The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) condemned the Deputy Chief Minister’s recent statement on inserting so-called ILP-like provisions in the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, as a calculated political diversion aimed at weakening and delaying the legitimate demand for a full-fledged Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Meghalaya.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the HYC president, ,Roy Kupar Synrem said the HYC asserts that the people of Meghalaya are not fools to be placated with vague phrases and legal smoke screens. “ILP-like” is not ILP, and no amount of verbal gymnastics can disguise this fact. If the state government truly intended to protect indigenous interests, it would have already secured ILP instead of repeatedly floating half-baked alternatives with no legal clarity, no draft provisions, and no timeline.
“We categorically states that any law which does not vest Meghalaya with absolute powers to regulate entry, stay, employment, trade, and settlement of non-indigenous persons is a betrayal of indigenous security. Diluted clauses buried inside a central Act will neither stop illegal influx nor prevent demographic aggression”, the HYC said.
According to the HYC, the continued attempt to confuse the public reflects a dangerous lack of political courage. While illegal settlements mushroom and land alienation accelerates, the Government chooses to issue statements instead of delivering results. Such evasiveness only deepens public mistrust, Synrem said.
“We demand an immediate and unequivocal answer from the state government: Will Meghalaya get a full ILP with the same legal authority as under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873, or not? Anything short of this is deception”, he said.
“HYC makes its position unmistakably clear: No dilution. No delay. No compromise. Failure to act will force the Council to escalate state-wide democratic resistance, and the responsibility will lie squarely with the government”, Synrem said.
