Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016
BY OUR STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI, Sept 29: A meeting held between the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and eight indigenous tribal sahitya sabhas here on Thursday strongly opposed the Central government’s move to introduce the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 for granting citizenship to Hindu migrants, who came to India after 1971, on humanitarian ground.
Besides top AASU leader including its president Dipanka Kumar th, general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi and adviser Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharjee, representatives of Boro Sahitya Sabha, Mising Sahitya Sabha, Rabha Sahitya Sabha, Deuri Sahitya Sabha, Karbi Sahitya Sabha, Tiwa Sahitya Sabha, Garo Sahitya Sabha and Dimasa Sahitya Sabha under the banner Indigenous Tribal Sahitya Sabha took part in the meeting.
Kamalakanta Mushahary, chief convener of the Indigenous Tribal Sahitya Sabha under whose leadership all the representatives of eight sahitya sabhas took part in the meeting, said: “The Central government’s move to grant citizenship to Bangladeshi migrants who came to India after 1971, whether Hindu or Muslim, will pose threat to the very existence of the indigenous people of the State.”
AASU advisor Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharjee said that the Centre’s move to grant citizenship to Bangladeshis who migrated to Assam and India after 1971 would be a total violation of the Assam Accord. “This is a conspiracy of the Central government especially when the NRC update is being taken place in the State,” said Bhattacharjee.
He said Assam is not in a position to take any more burden of migrants due to the move of the Central government and the indigenous people of the State should be provided all constitutiol safeguards by the government. “Already many tribal belts and blocks in the State have been encroached upon by illegal tiols and the State is not in position to accommodate more cross-border migrants,” added the AASU adviser.