SHILLONG: While Congress legislator PT Sawkmie wanted the extension of Sixth Schedule to the non-scheduled areas in the state, legislator from the same party, Azad Zaman opposed it.
Taking part in the discussion on ILP resolution on Thursday in Assembly, Sawkmie said, “We have one voice, one state and one demand to extend the Sixth Schedule to non-scheduled areas of the state. He also said in one voice, the state is demanding implementation of ILP while opposing the CAA. However, Zaman, in his brief speech, said that he was against the extension of scheduled areas to the existing non- scheduled areas. “There are non-scheduled areas in Rajabala, Phulbari, Mahendraganj, Selsella and parts of Tikrikilla in Garo Hills like the European ward in Shillong and whenever legislative measures are taken , the interest of the permanent genuine non-tribals should be protected”, Zaman said.
According to Zaman, the privileges of the genuine and permanent non- tribals will be affected if there is extension of Sixth Schedule to normal areas. He said that influx is a serious concern for the state while demanding that the contentious acts like Citizenship (Amendment) Act should be repealed.
He said that only 3 percent of the non- scheduled areas have not been exempted from the purview of the CAA. “The genuine non-tribal community has contributed a lot for the development of the state,” he said adding that if people who have been left out from the NRC exercise come in these inter- state border areas, there would be humanitarian crisis in the state. He, however, opposed CAA and supported the government resolution on ILP.
