New Delhi: The North East Students Organisation (NESO) and the All Assam Students Union (AASU) on Tuesday challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to explain their decision to exempt the areas covered under Inner Line Permit (ILP) and Sixth Schedule in the Northeast from the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, barring the rest of the region.
"I would like to challenge PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to explain that if CAA is bad for areas covered under Inner Line Permit and Sixth Schedule, then how is it good for the rest of the Northeastern states, " said AASU chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya while addressing a press conference in Delhi.
The Inner Line Permit is a document that Indian citizens from other states require to enter Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and most of Nagaland. Even long-time residents who do not belong to communities classified as “indigenous” to these states need the permit, which they need to renew every six months.
The Sixth Schedule, on the other hand, provides for autonomous decentralised self-governance in certain tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura. In these areas, communities not considered local are restricted from owning land and businesses.
Accusing the Bharatiya Janta Party-led government in Assam and at the Centre of imposing CAA to protect "illegal Bangladeshis" Bhattacharya said, "the influx of foreigners is a threat to the language, culture and identity of the indigenous people of Assam and Northeast."
"We would also like to live like a normal citizen of this country, but we are being forced to live like a second class citizen under the rule of illegal Bangladeshis, " said the student leader.
Referring to Union Home Minister's "promise" to form a committee to implement Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, Bhattacharya said, "The Centre is trying to bargain clause 6 for CAA."
"We would like to tell the central government that clause 6 of the Assam Accord is non-negotiable, " added AASU's chief adviser.
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After witnessing widespread protests against the Centre's move to implement CAA, several central, as well as state BJP leaders, have been promising the implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord - which provides for "constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards...for the Assamese people".
