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Proposed amendment to Citizenship Act disregards sentiments of Northeastern people: Mukul Sangma

Maintaining that the Northeastern states should be viewed from the perspective of being frontier states, Sangma observed that creating a sense of uneasy atmosphere in the region could further aggravate the sense of frustration and alienation vexing the region.

Written by Jimmy Leivon | Imphal |
Updated: November 19, 2018 10:17:31 pm

Former Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma. (Source: Express Archive)

Former Chief Minister of Meghalaya and Congress leader Mukul Sangma claimed the proposed amendment of the Indian Citizenship Act by the present government is an indication of negligence and disregards to the sentiments of the Northeastern people.

“It is very obvious that the amendment is to facilitate and regularise the entry of foreigners in total disregards to the hue and cry on the issue of immigration, which is one of the contentious issues in the region”, said Sangma.

Maintaining that the Northeastern states should be viewed from the perspective of being frontier states, Sangma observed that creating a sense of uneasy atmosphere in the region could further aggravate the sense of frustration and alienation vexing the region.

Mukul Sangma is in Imphal on a three-day visit to gather public opinions and suggestions for drafting the election manifesto of the Congress party for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. During his stay, Sangma, who is entrusted with collecting feedbacks in areas like federalism, border state, regionalism and migration, will meet public leaders, CSOs etc.

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Sangma said the Congress party has adopted the new approach, for it believes in upholding the spirit of democracy.

The consultation will enable us to directly connect with various stakeholders, he said, adding that based on the diverse views from the people the party will position themselves in sync with their stand to protect the interest of the indigenous communities of the region.

“We came up with the new approach for we believe we must always ensure that the spirit of democracy is not diluted. Any political party must ensure that the promises and commitment you have made to the nation can be practically implemented or in sync with the aspiration of the people. The spirit of democracy requires to fulfil the promises and commitment made to the nation”, added Sangama.

Today, Sangama visited Moreh town bordering Myanmar and inspected the yet to be inaugurated Integrated Check Post (ICP) there besides organizing consultation meet with the people.

During the meet, Sangma recorded the woes of the public leaders, CSOs residing in the border town including law and order problems, unpredictable tax regimes, lack of infrastructures etc.

“Our idea is to ensure that the border areas are no longer perceived as difficult areas or remote areas but a place where people should become more prosperous. We want to see the international borders can be appropriately exploited for the benefit of the people. When both sides of the border mutually benefit from both sides of the border people-driven agenda will eventually resolve any misunderstanding”, he observed.

Sangma will hold another public consultation meeting in Imphal on Tuesday.

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