Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, Dec 15: The Rajiv Gandhi University Students’ Union (RGUSU) and the Students’ Union of NERIST (SUN) on Sunday reiterated their stand against the amended Citizenship Act (CA) and said the unions will continue to carry out democratic protests against the discriminatory law.
Addressing journalists at the Arunachal Press Club here, RGUSU president Dopam Sonam said the exemption of Arunachal from the CA’s purview “is an eyewash to befuddle the innocent citizens, whereas in reality the inner line permit (ILP) will not be able to protect the state from illegal immigrants.”
“The exemption from the act is eyewash. There is no actual protection. The BEFR can be scrapped any time,” said Sonam, casting aspersions on the Centre’s attitude towards the Northeast.
He said the sole objective of the peaceful rally that had been taken out by the RGUSU and the SUN on the 13th was to send a clear message to the Centre that Arunachal is against the CA.
“We will not accept the discriminatory act, as it is detrimental to the entire Northeast and Arunachal,” Sonam said.
He said the CA would have far-reaching impact even in the ILP regime states of Arunachal, Nagaland and Mizoram.
Condemning the BJP government for passing the citizenship amendment bill (CAB), the RGUSU president termed the CA “a distraction by the Modi government from the main issues like unemployment and the economic slowdown.”
He appealed to the elected representatives of the state to “ponder on the greater future of the region and rise above political affiliations.”
Meanwhile, a postgraduate student of RGU’s sociology department, Misso Nobin, has launched an “indefinite progressive strike,” demanding total removal of the CA from the entire Northeast region.
Misso also expressed displeasure over the apathy of the national media for not highlighting the atrocities occurring in the Northeast following the passing of the CAB.
