Imphal, Dec 9 : Manipur Chief Minister, N Biren Singh on Monday said that the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873 would be enforced in the state to exempt Manipur from the purview of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
The development came up in the wake of the ongoing protest in the State against the amendment of the Citizenship Act, 1955. There was total shut down of business , educational institutions as MANPAC asked all to stop their normal activities on Monday.
Singh said that the Union Home Minister Amit Shah had informed him t him over the phone that the Inner Line Permit system would be enforced in the whole State in order to exempt Manipur from the purview of CAB.
The Chief Minister said that implementation of ILP in the State has been a dream and a long standing demand of the people of the State.
Singh said that people should thank the Central Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for their concerns for the State.
The permit system, which is still in force in Nagaland as well as Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, derives from the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulations, 1873, and entails issuance of official travel documents issued by the central government to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected/restricted area for a limited period.
The ILP, a British era regulation designed to preserve ethnicity and culture of the northeastern tribals, required all Indian citizens not usually residents of the area to secure a special permit for entering the border states and regions of the northeast.
Meanwhile, the government issued an order asking all employees to celebrate the decision by carrying photographs of Prime Minister and Home Minister.