People opposed to Citizenship Bill, Mizoram CM tells Shah
AIZAWL:MIZORAM chief minister Zoramthanga Saturday told Union home minister Amit Shah that the people of the state are against the proposed amendment to the Citizenship Act, 1955, an official statement said.
The Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 could open a “floodgate of illegal immigrants” in Mizoram, the statement said.
Zoramthanga met Shah at the Raj Bhavan here during the Bharatiya Janata Party president’s maiden visit to the state after assuming office.
Shah also met an umbrella organisation of civil society bodies and student associations. The organisation submitted a memorandum demanding that the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 should not be legislated in Parliament.
If the Bill is passed in Parliament then Mizoram and other north eastern states which are opposed to the contentious bill should be exempted from its ambit, the memorandum by the Mizoram NGO Coordination Committee said.
The committee had earlier decided to organise a protest rally against the proposed CAB but changed its decision and met Shah to discuss its demands.
Shah had said on October 1 that the Citizenship Amendment Bill would be passed in Parliament which will grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan after seven years of stay in the country even if they do not possess proper documents.
The Bill had been passed in Lok Sabha on January 8 but lapsed as it could not be placed in Rajya Sabha.
There have been protests against the proposed Bill in several north eastern states.
A press release issued by the NGO body said that Shah assured it that the inner line permit (ILP) system in force in Mizoram would be incorporated in the proposed Bill.
The ILP is an official travel document issued by the Government of India to grant permission for inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected area for a limited period.
It is obligatory for Indians residing outside the states concerned to obtain permission prior to entering the protected areas.