Shillong, Jan 12: The Meghalaya BJP has submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi opposing the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016 which was passed in Lok Sabha recently.
According to a statement issued here on Saturday, BJP legislator, Sanbor Shullai said that during the BJP National Convention held at Ram Lila Maidan (Ground) New Delhi, he along with BJP MLA, A.L Hek attended the National Convention and handed over a memorandum along with the state BJP president Shibun Lyngdoh to the Prime Minister opposing the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016.

Meanwhile another memorandum submitted by Shullai to the Prime Minister said that the Bill will further aggravate the prevailing problem of influx of illegal migrants from Bangladesh which the state has been grappling with since Independence.

Stating the Bill has triggered wide spread negative sentiment among the people of the North Eastern States, Shullai who is the BJP MLA from South Shillong Assembly Constituency, said in the memorandum that the Bill has undermined ongoing updation of 1951 NRC and the Assam Accord which also used 24th March 1971 as cut-off date to determine the list of Assam citizens.

“The new Bill will nullify the objective of the NRC as well as the foundation of Assam Accord as it has a cut-off date of 31st December, 2014,” Shullai said.

While referring to Meghalaya which shares an international porous border of 443km with Bangladesh, Shullai said that the people of Meghalaya feared that the Bill will irrevocably dilute the strength of the indigenous population.

Asking the NDA government to reconsider its move to implement the Bill in North Eastern states or omit Bangladesh from the proposed Bill, Shullai said, “failing which, I shall have no other option but to take a strong decision considering the plight of my people of my state.”

“The proposed implementation of the Bill has caused widespread resentment among the people of my state, and North East as a whole and as such, has made me reconsidered my allegiance with the party and further the Bill was passed not taking into consideration the plight of the people of the North Eastern states and this shows negligence of the national party towards the people of the North Eastern states,” Shullai added.