Citizenship Bill unconstitutional, says Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee

Our Correspondent

Itanagar: The Congress in Arunachal Pradesh Friday termed the approval of controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, as moved by BJP-led NDA government as totally unconstitutional, discriminatory, communal and against ethics and essence of democracy.

The Constitution is explicitly clear that India is a secular and democratic country but the Modi government by last stroke of vote bank politics introduced this Bill to appease voters on the basis of community and religion to spread hatred, communalism and chaos across the country, particularly in North East India,” Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) President Takam Sanjoy said.

Addressing reporters here, Sanjoy said that the Bill was introduced at the time when the North East is confronting refugee and illegal migration problem.

“As Congress party walked out of Lok Sbaha to register its protest against the Bill, APCC out rightly condemns the move to negate the Citizenship Bill and 1985 Assam Accord at a time when the process of finalization of National Register of Citizens (NRC) is on in Assam,” he said adding, it would be a historic black mole on the anthropological picture of North East.

Referring to breach of coalition by Assam Gana Parishad from BJP-led Assam government and BJP-led Meghalaya government becoming first state to adopt a resolution against the Bill, Sanjoy questioned why the ruling BJP state government in Arunachal headed by Chief Minister Pema Khandu has remained a mute spectator?

“However, the anti-tribal havoc created by Modi government is not only rejects ab-initio by the Congress but continue to object till it is scrapped even if passed by the Rajya Sabha,” he added.

“Anyone living in anywhere in India, including Arunachal Pradesh, six years before 2014 would get citizenship as mentioned in the Bill is highly objectionable as this will make this tribal sate, protected by Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, a dumping ground of refugees and illegal migrants making the indigenous population minority,” Sanjoy apprehended and appealed Khandu to take a clear stand on the Bill.

When asked about the fate of Bill, he claimed that it would pass through vote-on-account in Rajya Sabha, where the BJP is in minority and that clears the fate.

Taking a dig at ruling state government, Sanjoy termed the state having a bureaucratic government as the chief minister acts like chief secretary and vice versa.

“Moreover, the BJP government has been “distributing Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), Special Infrastructure Development Fund (SIDF) and State Annual Development Agenda (SADA) schemes and the political bosses are demanding 10 per cent to 15 per cent commission to allot the schemes, particularly recently allotted 268 PMGSY schemes”, he alleged. Sanjoy further alleged that the government, particularly the chief minister granting no objection certificate to government servants seeking voluntary retirement discriminatorily on political line and inviting complaints against such officers through allurement.

“Such actions are shameless as the government is in disarray and directionless,” he added.

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