Govt watching, says Conrad

SHILLONG: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Thursday said the government will wait and see if the CAB is passed in the Rajya Sabha and accordingly take a call on the next course of action.
His comments come amid the buzz of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre preparing to bring the controversial bill in Rajya Sabha on February 12.
He said the state government has been very clear in its stand that it is against the bill and has been asking for support of other political parties.
Shullai reminds PM of his quit call
BJP legislator Sanbor Shullai, in a fresh letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has reiterated his opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and his decision to resign from the party within a month if it is approved in the Rajya Sabha.
In his letter, Shullai said the bill has drastically changed the prospect of the party in the northeastern region.
He said the decision of the party to implement the bill in the North East “is very disappointing as there are various drawbacks in the bill which need to be discussed with stakeholders”, including traditional bodies.
Stating that the bill makes illegal migrants eligible for citizenship on the basis of religion, Shullai said Meghalaya and other states in the region do not have “proper international boundary” and many stretches are easily accessible by Bangladeshi illegal migrants.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a statement saying approval of any application for citizenship would be subject to the consent of state authority but “rejection of any application would invite and unnecessarily open doors for litigation once the bill becomes law”, the leader pointed out.
“Thus considering the outcome of the proposed bill I have left it to the wisdom of the people of my state and have decided to leave the party within one month if the proposed bill is passed in Rajya Sabha without taking into consideration the opinion of the people of my state Meghalaya and the people of the northeastern region,” he said, adding that over 10,000 of his supporters are also willing to resign.