SHILLONG, NOV 30: Social organizations in the North East today asked the Centre to immediately scrap the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 as it seeks to “wipe out” the indigenous communities and to instead implement the ILP in all the states of the region.
The demand was made during a protest organized by the North East Students Organization (NESO) at the parking lot near the additional secretariat in the city here on Friday.
It was attended by leaders and activists of the Khasi Students Union (KSU), Garo Students Union (GSU), Naga Students Union (NSU), Socio Cultural Assamese Association (SCAA), Tripura Students Union (TSU) and others.
Shouting slogans against the BJP-led NDA government, activists also carried placards which read – “Instead of Citizenship Amendment Bill we want ILP”, “We will fight till the last drop of blood” among others.
The Bill was introduced by Centre in Lok Sabha in July 2016 to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make illegal migrants who belong to six communities – Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan – eligible for citizenship of India.
Speaking at the gathering, NESO chairman Samuel B Jyrwa accused the Centre of attempting to “wipe out” the indigenous communities in the North East region through the Citizenship Amendment Bill.
“But today we want to send a clear message to the government that we will not accept this Bill and we will fight tooth and nail because the North East region cannot be treated as a dumping ground,” he said.
Jyrwa also a former leader of the KSU said the Bill if allowed to go through, the microscopic indigenous population in the region will be in grave danger and threat and they may become minority in their own land.
Slamming the Centre for imposing draconian laws like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the NE, he said, “This is political injustice done to the people of the region.”
The NESO chairman further informed that a similar protest will soon be held at the national capital to pressurize the government to scrap the Citizenship Amendment Bill as he urged the people of the region to be united in this fight.
By Our Reporter
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