Shillong, Mar 18: Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC), Jaintia National Council (JNC) & Confederation of Ri Bhoi People (CoRP) have petitioned Chief Minister Conrad Sangma for full CAA exemption in Meghalaya and implementation of ILP in the state.
The CAA is exempted only in areas under sixth schedule and ILP.
The representation of the pressure groups said on Monday that the Ministry of Home Affairs had on March 11 notified the Citizen (Amendment) Rules, 2024 for implementing the provisions of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
“That, although the CAA, 2019 provided for exemptions of the applicability of the Act in the tribal areas of the State but the fact remains that the whole state of Meghalaya is not under the Sixth Scheduled to the Constitution of India. There are still areas under Shillong City, the Capital of the State where the provisions of the Sixth Schedule are not applicable and also where a large number of immigrants are residing. In such a case, if people residing in these areas or taking advantage of the non-applicability of the Act in the areas may migrate to these areas and after that are applying for Citizenship under the Act, 2019, then how will the State stop them for getting the Citizenship under the Act?. Is there a mechanism to keep track of the number of people presently residing within these areas so that a data is kept for future references?, the pressure groups asked.
They also expressed concern that even if the majority of the areas in the state are exempted from the purview of the CAA, 2019, the state will be affected by the spill-over from the other states and especially Assam.
“In the absence of any law that regulates the movement of people entering the State, we fear that the exemption provided will be futile and we may face unwarranted situations of influx into the State. Therefore, the only protection that we can have from this spill-over effect is the immediate implementation of ILP system as well as full exemption of the provisions of the Amendment Act in the State”, the said.
The pressure groups urged the chief minister to implore upon the Centre to provide for full exemption of the CAA, 2019 and its rules and also to extend the provisions of the ILP system in Meghalaya at the earliest.
