KSU slam govt for sleeping over ILP, Khasi language issue

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJuly 17, 2020

People of the state on Friday paid rich tributes to freedom fighter U Tirot Sing Syiem on his 185^th death anniversary.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma marked the occasion by presenting the U Tirot Sing Syiem Youth Achievement Award to five national youth awardees from the state while Assembly Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh laid a wreath at the memorial monument of U Tirot Sing at Mairang in West Khasi Hills District.

The Khasi Students’ Union, the Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People and other NGOs also paid rich tributes to the Khasi freedom fighter, who rebelled against the British Empire.

KSU president Lambokstar Marngar, at a function held at Madan Iewrynghep, slammed the state government for sleeping over demand for implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) and inclusion of Khasi language in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India.

He said demand for ILP had started in 1979 and the KSU along with other NGOs had also resorted to intensive agitations in 2013 but the then government was reluctant to implement the ILP.

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Marngar said after the formation of the MDA government in 2018, a memorandum was submitted to the chief minister Conrad K Sangma for his intervention.

“It was only after one year, this government had passed a resolution to urge the Centre to implement the ILP in the state. However, we do not know whether the resolution is just sleeping in the secretariat or in Delhi,” he said.

He also regretted that the government is only good at bringing amendments to the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA) without implementing them. “The setting up of entry-exit points (as mandated by the MRSSA) is yet to see the light of day,” Marngar said.

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He said similar is the case with the resolution passed in connection with the demand for inclusion of Khasi language in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India. “It is high time that the legislators of the state take up these issues seriously and in a more aggressive manner,” the KSU chief exhorted.

Earlier, the leaders and members of the United Democratic Party (UDP) also paid floral tribute to the legendary freedom fighter at the same venue.