SHILLONG: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Friday reiterated that the central government must hold consultations on the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
Speaking to newsmen here after a Cabinet meeting, Sangma said that the CAB requires a lot of consultation and the Union government must involve all stakeholders, including NGOs and political parties.
Recalling his recent meeting with the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, on the matter , he added that the latter has agreed to hold consultations.
It may be mentioned that NGOs in the North East have expressed stiff opposition to the move of the Centre to enact the CAB.
Large scale protests were held in Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya and Nagaland earlier this month against the controversial Bill soon after Shah announced that the legislation would be introduced in the November 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 was 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.
