GUWAHATI: Congress leader and former Meghalaya chief minister, Mukul Sangma alleged that the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was a pre-determined agenda of BJP backed by RSS.
Sangma further belittled the visits to Delhi by chief minister, Conrad Sangma and Assam chief minister, Sarbananda Sonowal as a “tamasha”.
“There is a lot of tamasha going on in regard to this Bill. We all know them. Both Meghalaya and Assam chief ministers made trips to Delhi only after the Bill was passed (in Lok Sabha),” the former chief minister said on the sidelines of a consultative meeting with stakeholders on Congress’ manifesto for 2019 here on Monday evening.
The Congress leader further slammed the BJP-led government at the Centre for “conspiring against the people of Northeast and the country”.
“I would say the Bill is a pre-determined agenda of BJP. Did Meghalaya CM or Assam CM not know about it before? They all knew about it. Before CAB, the contentious issue of work permit was brought up, which meant that they wanted to first give work permits and then regularise citizenship. This is a conspiracy against the people of North Eastern Region in particular and the people of the country as a whole. BJP has betrayed the people,” Sangma alleged.
Further taking a dig at the chief minister, Conrad Sangma not being able to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent Delhi visit, he said, “Did the Prime Minister meet the chief minister in Delhi?”
The Congress leader also said that the people have now understood what the BJP were up to in regard to the Bill and seen their true colours, “something which our party has always pointed out.”
‘Public connect’
On Monday’s consultations with people here to obtain inputs for the party’s election manifesto, Sangma said, “The fact that all stakeholders are being consulted ensures our commitment and our determination to connect with public aspirations. The guiding principle for any party should be the manifesto for which it needs to understand issues pertinent to Northeast, which is different from other parts of the country.”
The party held took suggestions from stakeholders on Centre-state matters, regional, migration and border issues during the consultation programme held here under the aegis of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee.
Sangma, who is a member of AICC manifesto committee, further claimed that the Congress leadership had an in-depth understanding of problems, saying that special consideration was given to Northeast during formulation of programmes.
“The Centre-state relationship is vital here. However, since the BJP came to power in 2014, the people of Northeast have been deprived of their entitlement. Funds under the Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resources have been kept on hold, even for NEC projects, till new guidelines were framed,” he alleged.