SHILLONG: The Congress-led government has cited double standard of the BJP led NDA government at the Centre for the move to amend the Citizenship Act to grant citizenship to Hindus from Bangladesh, while the Assam government has gone ahead with update of National Register of Citizens (NRC) which is aimed at controlling illegal immigration from the neighbouring country.
Mukul Sangma told reporters on Friday that the people of the Northeast are concerned over the contradictions as on the one hand, the NDA government is against illegal immigration of ‘particular group of people’ whereas the proposed amendment to the Citizenship Act will encourage the exodus of Hindus and other ethnic groups to the Northeast. “The intention of the NDA government is to change the demography of the Northeast which is not acceptable to the people”, he said.
The proposed Bill aims to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make illegal immigrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible for citizenship.
On the negative impact of the NRC in the Northeastern states, the chief minister said that state government has taken measures to address the spillover effect following the update of NRC in the neighbouring Assam.
The chief secretary had given instructions to all the deputy commissioners to be alert and the DGP had taken up the matter with his counterpart in Assam, Sangma said, adding that the State Residents’ Safety and Security Act will help to contain any influx to the State following the update of NRC in Assam.
