Shillong: The Meghalaya cabinet on Tuesday decided to oppose the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
The decision comes ahead of the visit by the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Bill to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, to the state to discuss the bill with various stakeholders.
The committee, headed by BJP Lok Sabha MP from Meerut Rajendra Agrawal will hold discussions on the bill with migrants, NGOs, public representatives and other stakeholders at the State Convention Centre here on Thursday and Friday to hear the views and suggestions.
The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in July 2016 to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, to make Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who left Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan to escape religious persecution, eligible for Indian citizenship even if they do not provide the required documents.
Following opposition to the bill, the Centre constituted the joint committee to examine the bill and submit a report.
After the cabinet meeting, deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong told reporters that the government, after discussing it in detail, decided "we should say no to the bill".
Saying that the joint committee would discuss the bill with all concerned, including the state government and stakeholders, Tynsong said, "From the government side, our stand is very clear and the decision of the cabinet will be communicated to them".
Tynsong said the bill "looks dangerous" as Meghalaya and other northeastern region are surrounded by Bangladesh, Nepal, China, and Myanmar. If the bill is allowed, he said, a Christian or Hindu from Bangladesh, once they stay in India for six years, can become an Indian citizen.
"This will not serve the purpose of our people in Meghalaya, whcih is a small tribal state," he said.
Section 2 (b) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, states that "illegal migrant" means a foreigner who has entered India without a valid passport or other travel documents or with a valid passport or travel document but remains therein beyond the permitted period of time.
The amendment bill, besides making the specified communities who fled religious persecution in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan eligible for Indian citizenship, also proposes to reduce their period of stay from "not less than eleven years" to "not less than six years".
AIUDF plea
The AIUDF on Tuesday urged Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti leader Akhil Gogoi to lead a united movement along with intellectuals of the state against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
