UPA govt rejected ILP proposal for Manipur in 2012: N Biren Singh

Imphal: Former Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh on Tuesday accused the Congress-led UPA government of rejecting a proposal in Parliament on introducing the Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime in the state in 2012.
He also charged the then government with blatantly appeasing illegal immigrants.
In a post on X, Singh recalled that during a Parliament session on September 4, 2012, the then Manipur Lok Sabha MP, Dr Thokchom Meinya, raised the issue of ILP in Manipur.
Singh claimed that the Congress-led UPA government not only delayed the issue but rejected the demand.
Singh quoted the reply from the then Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Mullappaly Ramachandran: “The Inner Line Permit System under Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873 applies only to the three North-Eastern States of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland which cannot be extended to the State of Manipur as per extant regulation.
Singh expressed his disappointment, saying, “No empathy, no willingness to consider Manipur’s distinct history and identity, just a cold bureaucratic dismissal.
He also questioned whether the Congress leadership in Manipur had informed the people about the rejection of ILP in Parliament, calling it ‘shameless denial’ of Manipur’s legitimate demand for ILP.