ITANAGAR, Nov 17: Chief Minister Pema Khandu said his government will never work against the interests of the indigenous people of the state, and ensure that their rights are protected.
He said this while participating in the National Press Day celebration in Namsai on Saturday. “The central government has made its stand clear on the citizenship amendment bill (CAB) that it will not affect the tribal states,” he said.
Khandu informed that the state government has convened a cabinet meeting on 18 November to discuss the controversial bill, which is likely to be tabled in the winter session of Parliament. He informed that a special cabinet meeting will deliberate on the recommendations of the consultative committee on the CAB set up by the state government.
“The committee had convened a number of meetings with political parties, students’ bodies and community-based organisa-tions to seek their opinions on the CAB and prepare a comprehensive report on the issue.
“The report has been finalized, which will be discussed in the cabinet meeting, and the stand of the government will be communicated to the Centre,” Khandu said.
Lawmakers of the state during a meeting on 11 November had suggested that the government should approach the Centre for converting two regulations – the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873, and the Chin Hills Regulation, 1896 – into acts before enacting the CAB.
The BJP-led NDA government is set to push for the passage of the CAB in the parliament’s winter session, which starts on Monday. It has listed the bill in its items of business for the session, official sources said.
The bill had lapsed following the dissolution of the last Lok Sabha.
Govt set to push CAB
The situation in Jammu & Kashmir, the economic slowdown, unemployment, and the government’s plan to bring the CAB are some of the issues
which are likely to emerge as flashpoints between the opposition and treasury benches in the winter session of Parliament.
Besides the passage of the CAB, the government also plans to convert two crucial ordinances into law during the session.
In the session beginning Monday, the government is set to push for the passage of the contentious CAB, a key BJP plank which is aimed at granting nationality to non-Muslim immigrants from neighbouring countries.
The government had introduced the bill in its previous tenure as well, but could not push it through due to vehement protests by opposition parties, which criticized the bill as discriminatory on religious grounds.
The bill had lapsed following the dissolution of the last Lok Sabha.
The legislation seeks to grant Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan if they have fled their respective country due to religious persecution.
There has been opposition to the bill in Assam and other northeastern states. (PTI)
