Cabinet waiting for CM’s briefing on proposed Delhi visit: Ampareen

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJuly 18, 2023

Cabinet ministers are waiting for the chief minister Conrad K Sangma to brief them on the proposed visit to Delhi for pursuing with the Centre on the two resolutions passed by the State Assembly for implementation of the inner line permit (ILP) and inclusion of Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India.

“We will wait for the chief minister to brief us and we would definitely like to see that these matters do not keep hanging fire and that the public should not have the impression that we put them on cold storage,” cabinet minister and spokesperson of the MDA government Ampareen Lyngdoh told reporters.

When asked, Lyngdoh said, “ILP is something which we have discussed again and again. There are legislative actions taken, there are also governmental actions also taken. The MRSSA was also passed. It was also amended and it was also accepted. I think we need to have these parallel movements. Let us not be too rigid,” adding “If ILP is something which is said to get done then I don’t think there is an alternative because it is a government of India matter you have to get consent from the government of India and they are ones who are in authority to actually serve the agreement or the nod for the ILP to be implemented in the state of Meghalaya.”

She also asserted that the public should know for a fact that there are certain matters because of the federal structure of the country that we are all a part of and that you have to conform to certain requirements and procedures.

On language issues, the minister said that they have been told that there are few steps that the government needs to take and those steps are being taken.

“You need to ensure that you qualify on so many accounts and I think it is an indigenous language. Even CM is already propagating that certain examinations should also start being done in our local languages. If you want there is no disparity of language as disparity of language is a very big deterring factor for aspiring students and I would also agree with the CM, we can have a NIIT and a CUET in our own languages. This is something which we will continue to fight for and I think we are not only the state and many states are also waiting in line. We will work on it and keep highlighting to the Government of India,” she added.