GUWAHATI: The eviction drives in Assam have triggered panic in the neighbouring states about possible influx of the evicted people and illegal immigrants. After Nagaland and Manipur governments issued advisories to thwart the illegal entry of the people, the Meghalaya government issued an alert on Thursday at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma.
Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh, are “protected” states where the Inner Line Permit (ILP) has already been implemented. The ILP is an official document that an Indian citizen should carry while visiting these states for a limited period.
Meghalaya does not have any such constitutional safeguard. The Meghalaya chief minister said the purpose of the security review meeting was to discuss the overall effect of the Assam eviction drives.
“The government has been continuously engaging with the district magistrates so that they further engage with block development officers, police, NGOs, traditional heads and other stakeholders, and ensure there is no infiltration or movement because of the Assam eviction drives,” Sangma said.
He said the districts bordering Assam and areas closer to places of eviction drives were vulnerable and therefore had been asked to stay on alert. “However, no incident has taken place in any of the districts,” he added.
Nagaland has been on alert for the past few days. Various student organisations issued separate statements, expressing fear about influx of the displaced people and illegal migrants. Their worries strengthened after authorities prevented the illegal entry of the evicted people into Nagaland’s Niuland district.
“More than 200 vehicles, carrying illegal immigrants evicted from Assam and trying to enter Niuland district, were deported back from Niuland check post by the district administration, police and CRPF from various locations in the district,” the Niuland district magistrate stated on Wednesday.
The state’s apex students’ body, Naga Students’ Federation’ (NSF), on Thursday urged the state government to institutionalise a mandatory landlord-tenant registration system as a supporting mechanism for the effective enforcement of the ILP.
The NSF said despite the introduction of online ILP portals and QR-code-based verification, there remained serious enforcement gaps, particularly in urban and peri-urban areas.
Assam’s BJP-led government carried out the eviction drives in four districts which affected thousands of people, mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims. Golaghat district, which shares its border with Nagaland, is bracing for an eviction drive.