Shillong, July 28: The Meghalaya BJP today maintained distance from supporting the demand for implementation of the inner-line permit (ILP) in Meghalaya to check influx.

On the demand by the Hynñiewtrep Youths' Council (HYC) to implement ILP, Meghalaya BJP president Shibun Lyngdoh said a similar demand was made in Manipur but it is yet to be implemented there. "The ILP is neither bad nor very good. We have to look and compare with the states that implemented the ILP to find out if it can protect us or not. If it is not fruitful for them, we need to strike a balance and adopt mechanisms that safeguard the interest of the people of the state without harming others," he said.

Lyngdoh also underscored the need to further strengthen the autonomous district councils and make sure they function in a manner that safeguards the indigenous people. "We need laws that can protect the indigenous people of the state."

The ILP is an official travel document required by citizens to enter Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram and is issued under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873, by those governments.

Stating the ILP is the only law that can check influx, the HYC pointed out that some laws, including the Meghalaya Residents Security and Safety Act, 2016, of the state government would not regulate entry of outsiders but facilitate their entry "without causing any inconvenience".

"As indigenous people, we have to protect ourselves from influx. There is nothing illegal as long as we do things in the interest of the indigenous people. We have to do this in the spirit of self-defence," HYC general secretary Robertjune Kharjahrin said.

He said the government may state that free movement of citizens should not be subjected to restriction but Article 29 of the Constitution on protection of interests of minorities states "any section of citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language, script or culture of its own, have the right to conserve those". The HYC also criticised the Meghalaya Benami Transaction Prohibition (Amendment) Act, 2016, terming it "not strong enough to take on people indulging in benami transactions".

The HYC had earlier submitted a 14-point charter of demands to the state government, including the need to implement ILP, but there was no response from chief minister Mukul Sangma.

Besides ILP, the HYC had proposed residential permits for immigrants - to regulate non-indigenous tenants, besides implementation of trading and business permits for non-indigenous people.

It also suggested a number of mechanisms to deal with influx like keeping the cut-off date as January 1, 1971, by implementing the State Permanent Citizenship Registration Act for outsiders who came and settled before January 1, 1971.