Dimapur, June 26 (MExN): Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) president, K Therie today asserted that the Nagaland State Assembly should reject the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill of 2016, which he opined will “harm the society and nation for time to come.”
“The Bill is discriminatory in nature. It discriminates the Muslim religion. It also discriminates other neighbouring nations. India cannot afford to isolate itself and Nagaland cannot afford to be a part of such a discriminatory Bill,” Therie maintained in a press release.
The Citizenship Bill, he viewed, will only worsen the splintering of the nation on the lines of religion.
“The hidden agenda in the bill is to favour Hindutva. It will be become a permanent stain on society,” the NPCC president added. “We are a secular society; more so, we are a Christian society and cannot be a party to discrimination.”
Supporting such a Bill, he said, will reflect Nagaland as unbecoming of a secular as well as a Christian society. “Supporting such a Bill without deliberation in the State Assembly is a serious breach of confidence of the people.”
Further, Therie stated that Inner Line Permit (ILP) functions in the manner of passport. “It is a renewable, temporary permit. It has no relation with Citizenship Bill. It does not give a person any right to become a citizen.”
He said that the Government of Nagaland Office Memorandum (OM) of 1976 in respect of Indigenous Inhabitants is relevant in the case of Nagaland. “The said OM is in line with the provisions of Article 371(A). This is what our ancestors and founding fathers of the State had achieved to safeguard Naga-land,” Therie maintained.
He appealed to the MLAs to consider the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill seriously.
