Meghalaya state Congress announce statewide protest

Newmai News Network Shillong | April 12   The Congress party has announced a state-wide protest against the proposal of the Chief Minister, Conrad Sangma to issue work permits to Bangladeshi nationals to work in Meghalaya.   "We are going to have a statewide protest starting from Saturday in the state’s capital and Mendipathar in North Garo Hills District,” the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Dr. Mukul Sangma said on Thursday. Appealing to the people of the state to extend full support to the protest, Dr. Sangma also vowed that the Congress party will ensure that the present state government is not allowed to adopt this idea that will have far reaching ramification to the state and its people.   “We will ensure that no work permit for Bangladeshi nationals in Meghalaya, a state where you need to protect the microscopic population as this will have an unprecedented ramification and disastrous future to the state and our people,” he said.   The decision was taken few hours after the Congress staged a walk-out during the ongoing Assembly session in protest against the MDA government’s refusal to give up with its chief minister’s idea of issuing work permit to Bangladeshi nationals. He said that the protest is also in view of the problems already being faced by Meghalaya and the North East region due to influx and illegal immigration.   Dr. Sangma recalled that the state government in preceding years had spent substantial amount of time through exhaustively engaged with the various stakeholders including NGOs to find out ways and means to deal with the problem of influx and illegal immigration. Stating that a number of initiatives were taken as an offshoot of the engagement, he however said, “Now you come up with this idea as a government which will defeat the whole endeavour of the people of the state. This will not be acceptable by the people of the state.”   The former Chief Minister further lambasted the Conrad K Sangma-led government of talking about issuing work permit to Bangladeshi nations while youth from the state are compelled to go out of the state despite the environment is not conducive for them to stay outside.  

AGP against granting citizenship to Bangladeshis

  GUWAHATI, APRIL 12 (PTI): The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), an alliance partner of the BJP-led Assam government, today said it would not allow the central government to grant citizenships to Hindu Bangladeshis. Addressing a press meet here, AGP President and Agriculture Minister Atul Bora said, "The Centre wants to bring Hindu Bangladeshis to India and grant them citizenship. We do not support the idea as it violates the historic Assam Accord, 1985." All illegal foreigners should be deported from Assam, irrespective of their religion, Bora said. "The Assamese society is a secular one. We will never allow the segregation of illegal foreigners on the basis of religion," he explained.   The AGP leaders have met the Prime Minister to express their reservation on the matter, he said. "We won't hesitate to give up our ministerial posts in the state government if Assam's interest is affected." The regional party would always be sensitive to the needs of the local people, Bora said. "The AGP will also ensure that no illegal foreigner's name is included in the updated National Register of Citizens in Assam and no genuine Indian citizen's name is left out," he said. Asked about reports of simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assam assembly polls next year, the AGP president said, "Discussions have to be first held before anything is decided on the matter.