SHILLONG: Congress legislator Ampareen Lyngdoh has cautioned the state government over the proposed move of the Centre to enact the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill saying Meghalaya will be one of the first states to suffer the consequences.
Talking to media persons here on Tuesday, Lyngdoh said that the state shares a long and porous international boundary with Bangladesh and would feel the impact more.
According to reports, the Centre will bring the Bill in Parliament in November.
Lyngdoh said as the state shares a porous border with Bangladesh, people feel threatened and hence demands for Inner Line Permit and other systems to check illegal immigration keep cropping up.
She said following the publication of NRC in Assam, the Opposition has already alerted that those left out of the citizens list are trying to find a shelter and the impact of CAB on the state will be even bigger.
“The central government is allowing them to come to India and I would have understood if it had earmarked a place for them to stay,” she said while lamenting the lack of pre-planning ahead of introducing the Bill in Parliament.
She said the state would come under pressure from all corners and will have to face many challenges, which is why the Congress was asking the government for protection under Article 371.
“There is logic in our case and not just a political gimmick,” she said.
The Bill seeks to provide Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, Christians and Jains from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who entered India till December 31, 2014.
The legislation, which was passed by the Lok Sabha, lapsed earlier this year after the Centre did not table it in the Rajya Sabha.
The North East Students Organisation (NESO) has already reiterated its opposition to the CAB.
