By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, March 15: Following the growing resentment against the central government’s recent notification of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act rules, Meghalaya BJP president Rikman Momin went into a damage control mode by emphasising that the state has been exempted from the purview of the CAA.
Thanking the Centre for respecting the sentiments of the tribal people by exempting the Sixth Schedule areas from the CAA, he said it shows the BJP cares for the northeastern states.
“The BJP government believes in taking everyone together. Although the Act was passed in 2019, the government deliberated for over four years before notifying the rules,” he said.
“Now that Meghalaya is exempted from the CAA, it is pointless for those opposing it. As citizens of this great nation, we should all work towards its progress and prosperity,” Momin said.
When asked about the unscheduled areas, BJP spokesperson Mariahom Kharkrang said the area comprises around 1 sq. km and he does not think any people will be required to apply for citizenship under the CAA.
However, the opposition Voice of the People Party (VPP) on Friday said Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma’s statement that the CAA would not have any impact in Meghalaya was ridiculous.
“We should not forget that we are surrounded by a state (Assam) where the impact of CAA is the maximum. To speak with such confidence as the chief minister that the CAA would not have any impact in the state amounts to living in a fool’s paradise,” VPP spokesperson Batskhem Myrboh said.
Stating that the VPP is against the principle of the CAA even if the Sixth Schedule areas are exempted, he said: “The very fact that Meghalaya has no Inner Line Permit system implies that exemption of the Sixth Schedule areas from the purview of CAA makes little or no sense.”
“Had the central government decided to extend the purview of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation to Meghalaya, the exemption from the CAA would make sense and acceptable to the people of the state,” he added.
The chief minister had recently stated that the CAA would not have any effect on Meghalaya because “99.999% of Meghalaya” falls under the Sixth Schedule.
“There is hardly 1 or 2 sq. km of municipal areas and European Ward, which are non-scheduled areas. It will not have any impact as almost the entire state is exempted from the CAA,” he said.