From Our Special Correspondent
GUWAHATI: Apex students’ union, Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) has appealed to the Governor to give his assent to the Mizoram Maintenance of Household Registers Bill, 2019, which was passed in the state Assembly in March this year.
“We had appealed to the state government to urge the Governor to give his consent to the Bill, which was passed by the state Assembly in March this year. In fact, we had also conveyed the need for a document like the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to the home minister,” senior MZP leader, Ricky L. Colney told The Shillong Times from Aizawl on Wednesday.
Earlier, the NGO Coordination Committee, the umbrella organisation of all major civil societies and students associations of Mizoram, had urged the state government to impress upon Governor Jagdish Mukhi to give assent to the bill that seeks to detect foreigners illegally residing in the state.
Like some other Northeastern states, Mizoram too has stepped up vigil in the wake of apprehensions of NRC-discarded people illegally entering the state.
On Assam Opposition leader Debabrata Saikia’s recent letter to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, citing reports of “harassment and expulsion” of visitors to some states in the region, Colney said visitors should not be harassed.
“In Mizoram, police have stepped up vigil and strengthened security at the seven inter-state border check gates. We have also requested the government to secure the border check-gates and ensure NRC-discarded people or any other infiltrators do not sneak in,” Colney said.
“We had placed volunteers at the check gates last year (after release of draft NRC) as a measure against influx. But we are against any form of harassment of visitors,” he said.