Nagaland Cabinet budges to pressure, rejects Citizenship bill
(Sourced from PTI)
The Nagaland Cabinet has rejected the citizenship bill, following pressure from various tribal organizations and students bodies. Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and Chief Secretary Temjen Toy said that taking into account the will and desire of all sections of the people, the Cabinet meeting yesterday made it amply clear that the state government remains opposed and rejects the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016.
The bill, which was passed in the Lok Sabha earlier this month, has been an issue of concern in Nagaland and triggered protests across the northeastern region, they said. The people of the state have expressed their opposition to the bill in various forms in a democratic manner and the Cabinet discussed the bill at length yesterday, the CM and the chief secretary said.
The Cabinet had earlier said that the CAB wasn't applicable to the state. The National Democratic People's Party-led People's Democratic Alliance (PDA) government in the state had said that Nagaland enjoys protection under provisions of Article 371 (A) of the Constitution and the Inner Line Permit (ILP), according to which, any person who acquires Indian citizenship will be ineligible for acquiring property.
The state government from the very beginning had expressed its opposition to the bill and conveyed the same to the Center, they said. The PDA government has also assured the citizens that it'll leave no stone unturned to constantly protect the rights of the people.
Regional parties across the northeast which are in alliance with the BJP will meet in Guwahati today to put forth their objections to the controversial bill. They will be joined by the JD(U), NDA's major ally in Bihar, and the AGP, which recently snapped ties with the BJP in Assam over the proposed legislation that seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslim nationals.
The bill says non-Muslim nationals from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan can get Indian citizenship after six years of residence in India. NDPP president Chingwang Konyak will be attending the meeting, convened by Meghalaya CM and NPP president Conrad K Sangma. AGP will co-convene the program.
