SHILLONG, Nov 29: The BJP-led NDA government’s decision to repeal the three controversial farm laws seems to have given a new lease of life to the demand for the repeal of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
Pressure groups in the state have renewed their vow to go all out to make the Centre repeal the Act.
The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) and the Federation of Khasi-Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP) on Monday said the CAA goes against the sentiments of the indigenous people of the state.
KSU president Lambokstar Marngar said the union had been vehemently opposing the Act since it was tabled as a bill in 2019.
“This legislation brought by the Centre poses a huge threat to the very existence of the indigenous tribal population of the state in particular and the Northeastern region in general,” he said.
Asserting that the KSU will continue to raise its voice against the CAA, he said that the Centre had gone ahead and passed this legislation without respecting the sentiments of the tribal people.
It is really unfortunate that the Centre ignored the voices of protest across the Northeastern states, he added.
Marngar recalled the KSU had organised public rallies in various parts of Khasi-Jaintia Hills to oppose the CAA.
“In the past two years, we could not hold meetings or organise protests or rallies against this legislation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As constituents of the North East Students’ Organisation, we will continue to oppose the CAA in whatever way possible,” he said.
He pointed out that the Centre pushed the CAA through when the pressure groups in the state were fighting for the implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Meghalaya.
The KSU president said the Centre should take note of the anti-CAA protests and hoped the NDA government would repeal it like the three farm laws. “We expect the NDA government to adopt the same yardstick to repeal the CAA, respecting the sentiments of the people of the Northeast. We will continue with our anti-CAA movement while pressing for the ILP in the state,” he said.
Echoing Marngar, FKJGP president Wellbirth Rani said the Centre had passed the CAA by force without listening to the voices and sentiments of the tribal minorities of the Northeast.
“We had impressed upon the state government to oppose the CAA and not merely to seek exemption from the purview of the Act. Our stand is clear; the Centre must repeal the CAA,” he said.
He also said the North East Indigenous Peoples’ Forum (NEIPF), of which the FKJGP is a part, will be organising a conference in Kohima in the first week of January next year to discuss the CAA and also the interstate boundary issues.
“The CAA will top the agenda at the conference since the demand for repeal of the Act is getting louder,” the FKJGP president said.
According to him, even Assam has realised the negative impact of the CAA.
Stating that Meghalaya is a victim of the CAA, he said the Centre has not allowed people from other countries to enter India despite implementing the CAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We cannot allow people from other countries to enter our state since it will pose a direct threat to the very existence of our indigenous tribal population,” Rani said.