Shillong, Dec 6:Expressing its strong resentment at the approval of the Union Cabinet to the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019, the North East Student’s Organisation on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah whether the Government of India is for its own citizens or for the illegal migrants. “From the attitude and approach of the Government of India, it clearly shows that the government is for the illegal migrants,†the apex student’s body of the indigenous communities in the Northeastern noted in the letter to Modi and Shah. “In fact, the duty of the government is to protect its own citizens from external aggression but through this Amendment, instead of deporting them, the government is rewarding their illegal entry by granting them Indian Citizenship,†the letter added.
The cabinet approval came after Shah held consultative meetings with the chief ministers of northeastern states, leaders of different political parties and civil society groups and other stakeholders in New Delhi.
Noting that the Bill will only “encourage more infiltration from Bangladesh where the present Hindu population in Bangladesh is more than 140 lakhsâ€, NESO said, “This treacherous act of the government is a big threat to the identity and survival of the indigenous communities of the North East and this will further alienate the indigenous people of the North East where we have been receiving only political injustice from time to time.†In the letter, the NESO said that the region have been taking the burden of illegal migration since 1947 due to the partition when India attain Independence, again in 1971 due to the liberation war of Bangladesh. “the effect of which, the indigenous people of Tripura are reduced to a minority in their own land whereby as of today the indigenous people of Tripura accounts for only 30 per cent of the total population, the 11 districts of Assam out of 24 districts, the indigenous people of Assam are reduced to a minority, we have people’s movement in different states of North Easr against the illegal infiltrators but this illegal migration of people from Bangladesh still continuing till date, the Amendment also violates the provisions of the historic Assam Accord,†the letter stated.