A remark by a Meghalaya BJP leader that only 30,000 people are in favour of implementing the inner-line permit has sparked a row with pro-ILP groups claiming that the leader was responsible for “misleading” the Centre to keep in abeyance the permit regime from being implemented in the state.

On Saturday, the Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organisations, an umbrella of 17 groups, castigated health minister and BJP leader Alexander L. Hek after reports appeared in the local media quoting the minister as saying that only 30,000 citizens want the ILP to be implemented in Meghalaya.

“This statement from the minister is misleading. We want to know when did Hek carry out a survey to come to the conclusion that 30,000 people in Meghalaya support the ILP,” confederation vice-chairman Lawyerson War said.

He claimed that the confederation has found leads to indicate that Hek has been one of those persons responsible for misguiding the Union home ministry to keep in abeyance the implementation of the permit regime in the state.

The confederation has appealed to the people to start sending messages to Hek to show their support for the ILP so that the minister would know how many are in favour of the ILP.

Reacting to a news report on the complaint lodged before Union home minister Amit Shah against the confederation for conducting checks on “outsiders”, confederation chairman Robertjune Kharjahrin said, “This is an attempt to divert our movement to demand the ILP. You all know that the checking was done along with police personnel from the anti-infiltration branch. We were there only to assist.”

Under the first phase of its “direct action” programme, the confederation had launched a drive to check “outsiders” entering the state at all the entry points.

However, a woman from Assam had sent a complaint to Shah on Friday, demanding that the confederation should be disbanded.

In the complaint, Gayatri Borpatra Gohain noted that the confederation, which had no authority from the law or police, had infringed upon the fundamental rights of Indian citizens by “manhandling” them on the pretext of checking inner-line permit from February 12.

“Immediate cognisance of the said matter is essential under the National Investigation Agency Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act to not only disband and curb the notorious activities of CoMSO against fellow citizens but also in the interest of protecting national security. Though these may seem to be isolated incidents, one such spark is enough to provoke communal disharmony and dilute peace and pose great threat to the law and order situation in the state,” she said in her complaint.

Kharjahrin alleged, “Some people want to bring foreigners in the state to make Meghalaya a second Tripura. These are the people who need foreigners as vote banks and those who want cheap labourers.”