State wants Centre to consult on CAB

SHILLONG: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has reiterated that the Centre should hold consultations on the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill before placing it in Parliament.
Talking to media persons here on Wednesday, Sangma said that people from different states, politicial parties and even NGOs should be consulted on the issue as it affects everyone.
Stating that discussions on the CAB are taking place at different levels, he added that Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his visit to Guwahati had held talks with the chief ministers of the Northeastern states on the issue.
“ The Home minister was clear that he would talk to people, visit the Northeastern states and ensure that the concerns of the different communities and the states are properly addressed,” the chief minister  said.
According to Sangma, the recent visit of Shah to Mizoram was probably part of this.
It may be recalled that large-scale protests were held in Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya and Nagaland earlier this month against the CAB soon after Shah had announced that the legislation would be introduced in the next session of Parliament.
The Bill seeks to amend a 1955 law to grant citizenship to persecuted Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis and Christians
from the Muslim-majority nations of Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan if they have lived in India for six years.
It had been passed by the previous Lok Sabha but was not tabled in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill lapsed after the term of the Lok Sabha ended in May but was not introduced in the Budget Session in July.