New Delhi: The inner line permit (ILP) regime was extended to Manipur on Wednesday with President Ram Nath Kovind signing the order in this effect.
The decision comes two days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced in the Lok Sabha that the ILP would be extended to Manipur to allay fears of the people of the northeastern state about the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
A notification in this regard was issued by the Home Ministry.
To visit the ILP-regime states, outsiders, including people from other states of the country, need to take permission. There are also protection for the locals with regards to lands, jobs and other facilities.
Manipur is the fourth state after Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram where the ILP regime is applicable.
The ILP regime is applicable under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873. In terms of Section 2 of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulations, 1873, citizens of other states require ILP for visiting these three states.
Also read: What is Inner Line Permit in Northeast and how it is linked to citizenship bill
The main objective of the ILP system is to prevent settlement of other Indian nationals in the three states in order to protect the indigenous population.
There have been widespread protests in the Northeastern region against the bill following which the home minister had announced that the proposed law will not be applicable in ILP regime states and areas governed under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
Under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, autonomous councils and districts were created in certain tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura. The autonomous councils and districts enjoy certain executive and legislative powers.
While introducing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in the Lok Sabha on Monday, Shah had said the ILP would be extended to Manipur. He had also said an order in this regard would be issued before the proposed legislation is notified.
According to the bill, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, till December 31, 2014 facing religious persecution there, will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.
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Stepping back from the inflamed passions that CAB has aroused in the region – the Army has been called in in Dibrugarh to make it Sab changa si once again – difficult not to feel regret that the gulf between the north east and the rest of the country will only widen. From my perch in South Bombay, Inner Line Permit is something we should have left far, far behind. If Article 370 was a historic blunder, how will history judge these interventions, making the mosaic and the quilt of India even more complex.