The Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organisations will resume its agitation demanding implementation of inner-line permit (ILP) by holding a sit-in for five days next week.

Confederation chairman Robertjune Kharjahrin said on Friday that a decision was taken to organise the sit-in from February 4 as the Centre had not responded to the resolution passed by the Meghalaya Assembly on December 19 last year, demanding implementation of ILP.

Although chief minister Conrad K. Sangma met Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday, there was no concrete signal on whether the Centre would agree to the demand. Shah only told Conrad he would meet a Meghalaya delegation after the Delhi Assembly elections.

“It is nearly two months since the Assembly passed the resolution, and we have been waiting for a positive response from the Centre. But there has been no assurance that the ILP will be implemented till Thursday. We have decided to resume our agitation with a sit-in,” Kharjahrin said.

He reminded that since the 1970s, there were instances that the Centre, through the President, had denied assent to certain proposed legislations meant for the benefit of the indigenous people. He cited legislations like the Meghalaya Residential Permit Bill and the Meghalaya Employment Bill, which the state Assembly had passed, but the President had refused assent.

The confederation wondered whether the delay in extending the permit regime to Meghalaya was a “conspiracy” against the indigenous population.

Kharjahrin urged the 60 state legislators to put in extra effort to ensure the ILP demand sees the light of day. “Just passing a resolution is not enough. We feel all the legislators should go to New Delhi and protest against the delay,” he said.

He also said the confederation would write to the state directorate of anti-infiltration to offer volunteers to help the personnel manning the anti-infiltration checkgates. “We will offer our volunteers to the directorate so they can help in checking infiltrators,” he said.

Kharjahrin claimed that ever since the Citizenship (Amendment) Act was passed, there has been an “increase” in the tendency of “Bangladeshi nationals” to infiltrate.

He also claimed the confederation volunteers were able to nab “hundreds” of such infiltrators from different parts of the state since the act came into force. He said the infiltration into Meghalaya was directly along the international border with Bangladesh, and through neighbouring states like Assam.