Agartala: The Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT), a tribal regional party of Tripura, today said it would launch a joint movement against the proposed Citizenship Amendment Bill, after tying up with other parties of the North Eastern region.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was introduced in the Lok Sabha to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955. A key amendment in the bill seeks to grant citizenship to persecuted minorities of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan after six years of their residence in India.
“If this bill is passed, it would be disastrous for the indigenous people living in the North Eastern region. We are meeting leaders of various parties and are working to take the lead in forging a unified front against the Bill,” INPT General Secretary Jagadish Debbarma told reporters.
Debbarma recently visited Assam and discussed the bill with Asom Gana Parishad founder and former chief minister Prafulla Mahanta and, AGP president Atul Bora and others. INPT president Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl also visited several states of the region since July 16 and met Chief Executive Member of Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) in Meghalaya, he said.
Claiming that most members of the BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) are against the Citizenship Amendment Bill and demanding its immediate rollback, he said the Bill will endanger identity of tribal people in the NE. (PTI)
