Newmai News Network
Aizawl | November 27
The youth wing of Mizoram’s main opposition party, Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), on Wednesday submitted a representation to state Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai, imploring him to give his assent to a bill to detect foreigners and check illegal influx in Mizoram.
The ZPM youth wing said in its representation that “The Mizoram Maintenance of Household Registers Bill, 2019,” which seeks to detect foreigners and check the influx of illegal immigrants was passed by the state Legislative Assembly on March 18. The bill still awaits the assent from the Governor.
“We appeal you to kindly give your assent to the bill in order to check and end the heavy influx of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants,” the representation signed by ZPM youth president Malsawmzuala and general secretary C. Lalrammawia said.
The household register bill was passed by the state assembly on March 18. Chief Minister Zoramthanga, who introduced the bill, had said that the bill after its enactment, would help the state government in identifying foreigners. He had also said that the influx of foreigners into the state through its porous borders has remained a serious concern for several decades and in many cases the benefits of development and welfare programmes are found "eaten away to a large extent by such foreigners who clandestinely stayed back and got assimilated with the local people by taking advantage of difficulties in detecting them".
Mizoram borders Myanmar and Bangladesh, with which it shares 820 km of international border.
Meanwhile, the ZPM youth sought the Governor of his personal intervention to resolve the long-pending border dispute between Mizoram and Assam and strengthen international boundary security. It also appealed the Governor to permanently end the Bru repatriation after November and make arrangement for their permanent settlement in their original state of Tripura. The ZPM youth further sought the Governor’s help for enhancement of the development of Indo-Bangladesh border and Indo-Myanmar border trades.
