Manipur comes under inner line permit regime

CAB is not applicable in states that come under the ILP regime. To visit such states, outsiders, including people from other states of the country, need to take permission.

The government notified the extension of the inner line permit (ILP) regime to Manipur on Wednesday, seeking to blunt opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in the north-eastern state.

Former chief minister of Manipur O Ibobi (back row, 3rd L) along with 15 Congress MLAs from Manipur during a protest to oppose the re-introduction of Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) and non disclosure of Naga framework Agreement, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

The extension was announced by home minister Amit Shah in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

CAB is not applicable in states that come under the ILP regime. To visit such states, outsiders, including people from other states of the country, need to take permission. Such states also provide protection for locals in terms of land, jobs, and other facilities.

Manipur is the fourth state after Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram where the ILP regime is applicable. The objective of the ILP system is to prevent settlement of other Indian nationals in the states that come under it so as to protect the indigenous population.

The notification comes amid widespread protests in the North-east against CAB.

Commenting on the violence, Union minister of state (independent charge) for sports Kiren Rijiju, who is from Arunachal Pradesh, said “the [CAB] issue has not been communicated properly... or some people don’t want to understand. We don’t want the Northeastern region to fall into the trap of some mis-campaigning”. “The home minister has discussed and listened to the voice of the north-eastern people. This is a very important bill for the country... the concerns of the indigenous people of the north-eastern region have been addressed thoroughly.”