Neso stages protests in NE state capitals against citizenship bill

GUWAHATI/AIZAWL/KOHIMA/ITANAGAR: Stepping up pressure on the government to withdraw the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, various student bodies across the northeast staged protests across the state capitals of seven northeastern states under the aegis of the North East Students' Organization (Neso) on Monday.
"In Assam, all illegal migrants who have entered the state after March 245, 1971 must be detected and deported as per the Assam Accord.In other states of the northeast, we demand deportation of illegal immigrants on the basis of the 1951 deadline, as applicable to the rest of India," Neso vice-chairman and All Assam Students' Union (Aasu) president Dipanka Kumar Nath said.
Nath added that the organization will continue its protest against implementation of the bill in the northeastern states. "With the support of the people, Aasu will stage a week-long demonstration against the bill in Assam from May 23," Aasu general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi said. Aasu has submitted a memorandum to Assam governor Jagdish Mukhi demanding withdrawal of the bill.
The Neso leadership comprises representatives of Aasu from Assam, All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union (Aapsu) from Arunachal Pradesh, Twipra Students' Federation from Tripura, All Manipur Students' Union from Manipur, Naga Students' Federation (NSF) from Nagaland, Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) from Mizoram, and Khasi Students' Union and Garo Students' Union from Meghalaya.
In Aizawl, MZP organized a protest rally. "If the bill is implemented, the Mizo people will take it as a sign that the Indian Parliament and the Centre do not regard Mizoram as an integral part of India," MZP president L Ramdinliana Renthlei said. He added, "The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the bill did not visit the state even after repeated pleas. The bill, if passed, will end up granting citizenship to thousands of Chakma Buddhists who migrated to the state illegally."
In Kohima, the NSF held a sit-in outside the Raj Bhavan. "The bill poses a grave threat to the northeastern states. The NSF stands firmly against the bill. If the bill is passed in Parliament, we will intensify our protests," NSF president K Christopher Ltu said. Later, the NSF submitted a memorandum addressed to chairman of the JPC, Rajendra Agarwal, through the Raj Bhavan. "The bill is a mockery of the spirit of secularism enshrined in the preamble to the Indian Constitution. It also violates Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to equality. It is also in violation of the Assam Accord, 1985, which fixed 1971 as the cut-off year for any illegal migrant to be granted Indian citizenship," the memorandum states.
In Itanagar, Aapsu staged a sit-in demonstration against the bill. "The proposed bill is among the latest examples that the lawmakers in our country have no or very little regard for the indigenous people of Arunachal Pradesh and the northeast," Aapsu president Hawa Bagang said. Bagang added, "Aapsu will organize more democratic movements against the bill under Neso's leadership." He further said, "We will soon serve notices to all the Bangladeshis residing in the state to leave and remain outside the state till the National Register of Citizens update process in Assam is over to identify the genuine migrants. Moreover, we have cautioned the people of the state who have Chakma and Hajong refugees as servants in their houses to send them back, or else Aapsu will take its own course of action."