KARIMGANJ: The central government will reintroduce the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Parliament in November, Assam Finance, Health and PWD Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday.
Addressing a public meeting here, Sarma said the government will table CAB in Parliament in November and a new NRC will again be prepared.
“We have held public meetings to explain to the people that all the interests and existing legal provisions in the Northeastern region for the benefit of the indigenous people will be protected. We respect the inner line permit (ILP) system, Sixth Schedule provisions”, he said. “We need a bill… cannot allow infiltration to continue. So we need a bill to stop this,” the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convenor said.
Sarma said the central government has decided to bring such a bill that safeguards the interests of the indigenous communities of Assam and the other Northeastern states.
“People must not think that the bill is against the interest of their culture, language and heritage but that they are giving shelter to unfortunate people,” the minister said.
“That is why the government will table CAB in Parliament in November this year to grant Indian citizenship to everyone, including Bengali Hindus as well as Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains who came to the country before 2014 and consider India their motherland,” he said.
Sarma assured that the government will also take measures to ensure that the culture, language and heritage of the people of the North East region is protected. (PTI)
