NESO opposes amendment of Citizenship Act, warns of stir

Shillong, November 18 (IANS) The North East Student's Organisation (NESO) on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, reiterating its strong opposition to the proposed amendment of the Citizenship Act, 1955 during the winter session of Parliament which began on Monday.

The apex student's body of the indigenous student groups across the seven Northeastern states cautioned the central government that "such an undesirable step by Parliament will once again agitate the entire North East region."

On Monday, several students' bodies and other civil society groups staged a protest in their respective state's capital opposing the proposed amendment to the Citizenship Act, 1955.

The BJP-led NDA government had introduced the bill in its previous tenure but could not push it through due to vehement protests by opposition parties and it lapsed following the dissolution of the last Lok Sabha.

The bill seeks to remove hurdles in the way of eligible migrants from six minority groups from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan from getting Indian citizenship.

"We oppose the objective of the Bill and it should not be adopted by Parliament under any circumstances. Such an undesirable step by Parliament will once again agitate the entire North East region. We all have a responsibility to avoid such a potentiality," the NESO letter noted.

However, the apex student's body demanded the introduction of the Inner Line Permit system across the Northeastern states, implementation of the National Register of Citizens with a Base Year for each states and constitutional safeguards for the people of North East states that must delegate vast federal authority including the right over land and its natural resources.

Informing the Prime Minister and Home Minister that the North East region is infested with foreigners from the erstwhile East Pakistan and now, Bangladesh, NESO alleged that "politicians have supported them which threaten the identity of the indigenous peoples of the region."

"All the states of the region have suffered badly due to the illegal flow of the foreigners without any hindrance."

Noting that many states of the North East have taken the load of Hindu refugees who migrated due to the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971, the student's body said, "This Citizen (Amendment) Bill is again an attempt to impose the burden of the post-1971 Hindu Bangladeshis in the entire North East region which is not justified to say the least and North East is not a dumping ground for illegal Bangladeshis and to us... a foreigner is a foreigner irrespective of his religion.

"It should be common sense that the proposed Bill will defeat the very purpose of signing the Assam Accord. The NESO fully supported signing of the Assam Accord by the All Assam Students' Union setting 25th March 1971 as the cut off year for detection and deportation of the foreigners from Assam," the letter stated.

N-E students' union takes to street against CAB

Guwahati, November 18 (IANS) Student unions belonging to northeastern states on Monday staged protest rallies against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which is likely to be tabled in the ongoing winter session of Parliament.

The North East Students' Organization (NESO) called for the agitation on Monday in all the northeastern states. Hundreds of students belonging to different tribes and communities took part in protest rallies organized in different state capitals on Monday.

In Assam capital Guwahati, All Assam Students Union (AASU) organized the protest rally from the Union's headquarters to the Raj Bhavan shouting slogans and showing placards with messages written against the CAB.

"The BJP-led government at the Centre is planning to implement the CAB one more time and we are going to oppose this. Assam and other northeastern states had taken a lot of burden of illegal foreigners in the past. But not any more, we'll not let anyone make Assam and the northeastrn states as dumping ground for illegal foreigners," said AASU chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya.

The organizations also submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah through the Raj Bhavan.

"We are submitting this memorandum to express our dismay and displeasure that the government of India has again intended to introduce the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Parliament," said NESO chairman Samuel B. Jyrwa.

"Your government is again planning to bring back the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in this session of Parliament to which we as indigenous people of the North-East are vehemently opposed. In this regard, we would like to highlight that the entire North East region is infested with foreigners from the erstwhile East Pakistan and now, Bangladesh. They have infiltrated into and polluted every aspect of our social life," he said.

He said politicians have supported illegal foreigners, threatening the identity of the indigenous people of the region.

"It may also be reminded that many states of the North-East have taken the load of Hindu refugees who have migrated due to the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971 and this Citizen (Amendment) Bill is again an attempt to impose the burden of the post-1971 Hindu Bangladeshis in the entire North East region which is not justified," he said.

Jyrwa said that NESO fully supported signing of the Assam Accord by the All Assam Students' Union setting March 25, 1971, as the cut-off year for detection and deportation of the foreigners from Assam.

"We oppose the objective of the Bill and it should not be adopted by Parliament," he added.