The Hynniewtrep Youths’ Council (HYC) has rejected the state government’s proposal to incorporate so-called “ILP-like provisions” into the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 characterizing it as a calculated political maneuver intended to weaken and delay the long-standing demand for a full-fledged Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Meghalaya. In a statement issued here on Wednesday, HYC president Roykupar Synrem asserted that the people of Meghalaya will not be satisfied by vague terminology and legal ambiguities.
“ILP-like’ is not ILP, and no amount of verbal gymnastics can disguise this fact,” he said adding “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.”
The HYC, while reacting to a recent statement made by the deputy chief minister in-charge home (police) Prestone Tynsong on the issue, emphasizes that any legislation lacking absolute authority to regulate entry, residence, employment, trade, and settlement of non-indigenous persons constitutes a betrayal of indigenous security. It warns that diluted clauses embedded in a central Act will neither curb illegal immigration nor prevent demographic aggression.