Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) president K Therie has asked BJP to quit from the PDA government for bringing in and getting the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 passed in Lok Sabha and its alleged failure to resolve the Naga political issue.
In a press release, Therie asserted that the Bill 2016 was not acceptable to Nagaland as its objective clearly clashed with the interest of tribals and indigenous inhabitants, particularly in the Northeast, and it would compromise them despite previous safeguards. In the context of Nagaland, he declared that Congress stood by the 1963 electoral rolls as the basis for settlement.
“We have conveyed our stand that we do not approve the Bill at any cost when it was introduced last year,” he added.
The NPCC chief alleged that BJP’s intent to grant illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan citizenship on religious grounds was encouraging further infiltration in the Northeast, which was already grappling with a wide range of issues stemming from illegal immigrants, including change in demography and dilution of inherent social, cultural and linguistic properties to the extent of the indigenous people being reduced to a minority.
Mentioning that the State cabinet’s resolution to merely urge the Centre to re-examine and review the Bill without spelling out any proposal might not yield results for it was clearly an attempt to “walk the tightrope not knowing which side to jump”, Therie asked chief minister Neiphiu Rio not to mislead the people by confusing with provisions of Article 371(A) and Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.
According to him, Nagaland was already overcrowded with infiltrators and the youth had no jobs, leading to their exodus. He claimed that exodus of youth had become a major concern for Congress.
“Our boys and girls don’t see any future in Nagaland. They have lost hope. They do not even want to return to Nagaland as merit no longer has place. Now, it is only nepotism, bias and backdoor appointments that prevail,” Therie alleged.