Seeking to allay confusion in the minds of the people in view of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 (CAB) in the context of Nagaland vis-à-vis Article 371A, the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) Thursday contended that the Article 371A which states “notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, no Act of Parliament in respect of…” meant that despite of what was in the constitution, no Act of parliament shall apply to the state of Nagaland unless the Legislative Assembly of Nagaland by a resolution so decides.
NDPP through its media & communication committee maintained that in the present context, determining whether a person was a Naga citizen, along with his or her rights and privileges, rests upon the village institutions (eg village councils). It said village institutions were the keepers of traditional and customary laws, practices and procedure, not the government. NDPP said such has been the customary practices of Nagas since time immemorial, which has been further strengthened and protected by Article 371A of the Constitution of India.
Taking this into consideration, NDPP said the Government of India gave further protection to Nagaland by bringing the State under the purview of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act 1873 (BEFRA), wherein the Inner Line Permit (ILP) is issued in order to safeguard the Nagas, their Citizenship along their rights and privileges from being diluted and to maintain the sanctity of the Naga identity. Therefore, NDPP said BEFRA was one of the pillars to safeguard the Naga citizenship through the exercise of the ILP.
Further, it said the foundations of the Naga customary law was to preserve and protect the rights, privileges and the citizenship of the Naga people, which has been protected under the gambit of Article 371A in its totality. “It will definitely not be wise in viewing Article 371A on a microscopic point of view but rather it should be viewed on a much wider perspective since the Article 371A is a special provision given to the state of Nagaland by the GoI….” it stated.
Stating that only Dimapur was not covered by the ILP, NDPP said it would be the endeavour of the party to impress upon the government to ensure that BEFRA and the ILP were implemented in toto in the entire state of Nagaland including Dimapur and to ensure strict implementation of the ILP.
NDPP also said that if the CAB did become an Act the Nagaland Legislative Assembly has the provisions of Article 371A not to implement the Act in the state of Nagaland. “This will also not be the first time that the NLA will be referring to the provisions of Article 371A in not implementing an Act of parliament as there have been precedence’s in the past,” NDPP said.
It cited that NLA decided not to implement the Constitution 73rd Amendment 1992 on the grounds that infringed upon the provisions of Article 371A of the Constitution. Therefore, it said Nagaland has since been exempted from Part IX of the constitution of India that pertains to the Panchayati Raj System since the Nagaland Village & Area Council Act 1978 was already in effect that conforms to Naga traditional and customary laws, practices and procedures.
Similarly, it said if the proposed amendment to the Citizenship Act 1955 does infringe upon the provisions of Article 371A, the NLA is empowered to decide not to implement the CAB in Nagaland.
However, NDPP said sensing the pulse of the neighbouring states, which did not have the provisions and protection of Article 371A, and to place its support in solidarity to the voice of North-Eastern brethrens, the State Cabinet had passed a resolution to appraise the Centre to review the CAB.
Accordingly, the party said the Union Home Minister has publicly assured that a meeting of all NE chief ministers will be convened at the earliest to discuss the CAB in detail.
Despite all the above safeguards that Nagaland has, NDPP opined that the government of India exempted Nagaland from the purview of the CAB when it was moved for approval of the Rajya Sabha.
NDPP asserted that it was also an opportunity for Nagaland to take a fresh look at the prevailing laws and safeguards and undertake necessary measures “to enhance and strengthen our laws and regulations.” It said PDA government has already instituted a high powered committee to look at those aspects and put forth recommendations to the state government, which would include consideration of introduction of Work Permits, extension of ILP to the entire state including Dimapur district and use of modern technology to better monitor and effectively implement and strengthen existing laws.
NDPP further opined that introduction of work permits would enable the government machinery to better monitor the floating and labour population while also creating avenues to increase the revenue of the state through such a mechanism.
It affirmed that PDA government would leave no stone unturned and take every possible measure to ensure that the citizens of Nagaland were protected and safeguarded from any eventuality.
It also assured people of Nagaland that PDA and its leadership would continue to strive for the interest of the people. NDPP expressed confidence that the “people are intelligent enough not to be swayed by mere political rhetoric aimed at gaining cheap political gains by making misleading statements.”