Govt to soon pass amendment of anti-influx Act: CM

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaOctober 25, 2019

SHILLONG: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has said the proposed amendment of the anti-influx – Meghalaya Residents, Safety and Security Act (MRSSA), 2016 will be passed in the form of an ordinance in the next sitting of the state Cabinet. 

After chairing a cabinet meeting here on Friday, Sangma told reporters that after discussing the matter at length, the cabinet has also proposed necessary changes to the proposed amendment of the Act. 

“The new changes will now be made by the concerned department and it will be placed again in the next cabinet where we will be passing the amended Act. The objective is to bring an ordinance into this aspect because of different situations that are there,” he said. 

Elaborating further, the chief minister said that there is a need to balance the entire Act in a manner that is going to ensure that the objectives and goals the state government has is achieved and at the same time to ensure there is minimum inconvenience to anybody who is coming to the state. 

Earlier, the state government had also assured to call for an all party meeting to seek the views and suggestions of different political parties before taking a final call on the matter. 

However, pro-Inner Line Permit (ILP) groups under the banner of the Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organizations (CoMSO) have maintained that they will not accept the amended version of the MRSSA, 2016 if provisions of the ILP are not included. 

These include bringing of legal provision which bars outsiders from entering the state without valid permission, penalize any person who enters or stays in the state without permission, and permission should have validity of 179 days, and bar non-indigenous people to have land rights in the state.

Asked on the stand of his government, Sangma however said ILP is one of the mechanisms that people feel may work but it is not the only mechanism as there can be different mechanisms that can be put in place. 

He added that the Constitution of India has given the power to the state to create laws and the government is trying to come out with laws and systems that will ensure there is protection for the state and its people. 

“What we are saying is if there can be a law which can be made by us to achieve the same objective of the ILP without going to Government of India on this issue. I think keeping it in the state and trying to achieve the goals would be a much more simpler solution and doing it in a much simpler manner – is what we are trying to do,” he said. 

The chief minister also emphasized on the need to balance three aspects – to achieve the objective (of protecting the people), to keep the Constitution of India in mind and to ensure economic activities including tourism is not affected – while coming up with the proposed amendment. 

On the concern expressed with regards to the Centre’s move to implement the Citizenship Amendment Bill, the chief minister said the state government’s stand is very clear from day one that the CAB issue is something that needs a lot of consultations. 

“We need a lot of consultations not just at the level of the state but we need to ensure that the Government of india which is pushing this has consultations with all stakeholders,” he said. 

Sangma further informed that union home minister Amit Shah has also agreed to this idea and he assured that he is ready to consult and talk to different organizations and political parties on the CAB issue.