SHILLONG: North East Students Organisation (NESO) has warned of unrest in the whole of the North East if the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is passed in Rajya Sabha.
In a statement issued here on Thursday, NESO chairman Samuel Jyrwa reiterated that the government of India should not introduce the bill in the Rajya Sabha and in case it is passed then there will be unrest in the whole of the North East.
“The government of India should take the blame and be responsible for any eventuality and it will also further alienate the people of the North East,” he said.
The statement from NESO comes on the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to North East beginning Friday. He will visit Assam, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh.
Reiterating its strong opposition to the bill, which was passed in the Lok Sabha in spite of wide protest not only by the indigenous peoples of the North East, but also by some state governments and various political parties, the NESO leadership added that this is another example of political injustice and only goes to show that the Centre has no regard for the indigenous peoples of the region and the move is intentionally made to reduce them to a minority in their own land.
“The NESO would like to send a clear message to the prime minister and to the government of India that the indigenous peoples of the North East will not accept this draconian bill,” the statement said.