ITANAGAR, Feb 2: The Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has vehemently opposed the contentious citizenship amendment bill (CAB) and demanded its immediate scrapping.
Describing the bill as “communal, undemocratic, discriminatory and draconian in nature,” APCC president Takam Sanjoy in a press statement said the bill brought by the Modi government “will give automatic licence for citizenship to foreigners, refugees and Bangladeshi immigrants, if it becomes law.
“Clause C and Sub-clause 2 of the act would grant Indian citizenship to Bangladeshi Hindus, including Hajongs and Chakmas, who have lived in India for not less than six years. This regrettably supersedes the Supreme Court order on the cut-off year as 1971,” said the APCC president.
“A sensitive and strategically located state like Arunachal Pradesh needs special protection and exemption from the purview of the current bill, since the bill guarantees extraordinary licence for considering these sections of Bangladeshis, the acceptance of which will drastically change the demography of 8 lakh indigenous tribes and non-APST Arunachalees,” Sanjoy said.
AAPSU to join NESO on CAB prog in Delhi
Meanwhile, the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) informed that a delegation of the union, led by its general secretary Tobom Dai, is leaving for New Delhi to participate in a North East Students’ Organization (NESO) programme which will involve calling on leaders of different political parties to garner support for scrapping the contentious CAB.
The NESO delegation will call on AICC president Rahul Gandhi, leaders of all the opposition parties, and both NDA and UPA allies, to ensure that the bill is not passed in the Rajya Sabha, the AAPSU stated in a release on Saturday.
