No CAB in 3 N-E states, partially in other 3
The redrafted Citizenship Amendment Bill is likely to exclude 3 states in the NorthEast out of its ambit besides the tribal areas in as many as three other N-E states. This comes in the wake of Union Home Minister and BJP President Amit Shah meeting in Delhi with nine representatives from four organisations who are strongly against the Bill.
Three northeastern states - Arunachal, Nagaland and Mizoram -- where the Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime is applicable will be out of the purview of the CAB that created a political row in the area in the run-up to the 2019 general election. The politically sensitive Bill, which has already ruffled the feathers of the Opposition, will leave out tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura as well, sources said. These are the tribal areas where autonomous councils and districts were created under the 6th Schedule of the Constitution. These areas enjoy certain legislative powers. The draft of the Bill reads: "Nothing in this section shall apply to tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and the area covered under 'The Inner Line' notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873." Mizoram falls under the ILP. However, the draft is silent about the fate of Sikkim. The non-tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura will fall within the ambit of the Bill. Though the Bill in its present form seeks to allay much of tribals' concerns in the North-East, it may also strike a discordant note by keeping away the other 3 states.
Protesting against the bill, thousands of tribals on Thursday blocked Tripura's
main National Highway and lone railway line. The 12hour (since 6 am) National Highway and solitary railway line blockade was organised at Sadhupara in West Tripura district by the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura, Tripura's oldest tribal based party, demanding not to introduce the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in Parliament.