: The Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) shall resume sit-in protest from Sunday in and around Imphal.
Disclosing this to reporters on Saturday, H. Ibotombi Khuman, the convener, said that other forms of agitations shall follow.
In a joint meeting of the representatives of the political parties, the JCILPS and government officials, on February 18, in the office of Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, it was assured that the Bill would be tabled and passed during the budget session of the Manipur Assembly.
However, just two days are left for the session and so far there is no indication that the Bill will be passed. The JCILPS had submitted a 282-page memorandum having six demands.
Base year
During the meeting, the JCILPS said that 1951 should be the base year and all those who came after it should not be allowed to settle in Manipur. They should not be allowed to own land. However, the Chief Minister had clarified that since the migrant workers are Indians they cannot be denied land ownership.
The women’s and students’ wings of the JCILPS were very active and threw normal life out of gear in the past through various agitations.
Since the police could not contain the agitations, talks were held and the government gave an assurance to pass the Bill which will restrict the entry of the migrant workers.
The ILP in another nomenclature, The Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873 which had been in force in Manipur was withdrawn from November 18, 1950. The ILP system is in force in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland.
