Shillong: Senior NPP leader Ampareen Lyngdoh slammed political rivals today for peddling false hope about the Inner Line Permit. She made it clear that state politicians lack the legal authority to force the issue. Only the central government holds that power.
The pushback follows claims from the VPP that the state could trigger the permit system with a simple notification. They argue the power exists under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation of 1873. Lyngdoh dismissed this claim as political theater.
She pointed to a 2019 Presidential order that scrubbed Khasi and Jaintia references from the regulation preamble. That change happened just before the state assembly passed its own resolution. Lyngdoh views this timing as a deliberate setup to pin the blame on New Delhi.
“It is wrong to make such assurances to the people. Political parties should not take the public for a ride on this matter,” Lyngdoh said. She insists that constitutional hurdles make solo action by the state impossible. The Meghalaya Assembly passed a formal request to the Centre back in 2019. Despite multiple meetings with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the central government remains silent.
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