SHILLONG: Meghalaya Chief Minister, Conrad Sangma has reiterated that the Central Government hold consultations on the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) before tabling it in the Parliament.
Talking to media persons here on Wednesday, Sangma said that people from different states, political parties and even NGOs should be consulted on the issue as this issue affects everyone.
Stating that discussions on the CAB is taking place at different levels, he added that Union Home Minister, Amit Shah during his visit to Guwahati had held discussions with the Chief Ministers of the North Eastern states on the issue.
“The Home Minister was clear that he will talk to people, visit the North Eastern states and ensure that the concerns of the different communities and the states is properly addressed,” the Chief Minister said
According to Sangma, the recent visit of the Union Home Minister to Mizoram was probably a part of this and Meghalaya also intends to move in the same manner.
It may be recalled that large scale protests were held in Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya and Nagaland earlier this month against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Billl soon after Union Home Minister Amit Shah had announced that the legislation would be introduced in the new session of Parliament.
The Citizenship (Amendment) 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.
