GUWAHATI: Amid growing apprehensions by parties and organisations in Nagaland, the National Democratic Progressive Party-led People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA) firmly maintains that the indigenous people of the hill state are protected by Article 371 (A) of the Constitution and Inner Line Permit (ILP) regardless of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB), 2016 becoming an Act or not.
The PDA recently convened a consultative meeting in Dimapur and resolved to oppose the contentious legislation.
“As of now, no other Indian citizen can settle down in Nagaland, cannot acquire and own property, whether CAB becomes an Act or not. Under Article 371 (A), there are four clauses such as customary law, criminal law, religious law and land and resources,” PDA chairman and NDPP president, Chingwang Konyak told The Shillong Times on Thursday.
The PDA comprises 18 NDPP, 12 BJP, 2 NPP MLAs and one JD (U) legislator.
“Moreover, since we have the ILP system in place, no Indian citizen can enter the state without the document (which allows a temporary stay). Therefore, the indigenous people of Nagaland are protected,” Konyak said.
He further said the concerns among the indigenous communities of the Northeast, particularly Assam and Tripura, where illegal influx poses a threat to the local populace, were genuine. “We are therefore supporting the anti-CAB movement in the region,” he added.
The NDPP leader further said that the Naga People’s Front (NPF), which had boycotted the Dimapur meet, had maintained a different stand when it was in the government.
“When they were in the power, the leaders of NPF had said that Article 371 (A) was supreme….Now they are saying that there is no constitutional safeguard against CAB, which is not the case. They have a misconception about Article 371 (A),” Konyak said,
On NPF’s boycott of the consultative meeting with other parties and civil society, he said that since CAB was a common concern, all parties should deliberate together.
NPF had termed the initiative by PDA as “eyewash” as the lone NDPP MP in Lok Sabha had not opposed the contentious legislation when it was tabled in the House. NPF sources say, “Article 371A and Inner Line Permit as per Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act of 1873 does not override CAB. The ILP alone cannot protect indigenous people’s rights”.