Peoples Democratic Front (PDF) against Citizenship Bill

A Reporter

SHILLONG: Urban Affairs Minister Hamlet Dohling on Saturday said that the people of Mylliem constituency including the Peoples Democratic Front (PDF) are totally against the intension behind the BJP government in Delhi to implement the Citizenship (Amendment) aBill 2016. “If this bill becomes an Act it will affect the minority indigenous community of Meghalaya, as this bill was recently passed in the Lok Sabha, however in the Rajya Sabha the bill is yet to receive an approval,” Hamlet said at a PDF meeting held at Mylliem on Saturday.

He said that the state government is against the bill because if it becomes an act it will greatly change the demography of the state of Meghalaya and the indigenous people will become minority in their own state. “Our community both Khasi and Jaintia have a population of only around 14-15 lakh and if the bill becomes an Act its certain that the indigenous people will be wipeout from the state along with their traditional customs as many migrants from Bangladesh will become majority in the state,” he said.

Members and residents of Mylliem as a sign of opposition against the Bill stood up from their seats to show support to the state government for opposing the decision of the NDA government concerning the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016. “It’s not just the state government or different pressure groups which should oppose this bill however every citizen of Meghalaya should also stand united and oppose this bill,” he said. He said that there is a need to oppose this bill with an intension to safeguard the traditional customs of Khasi and Jaintia and to prevent the unseen as the indigenous community might become a minority in their own land.

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