SHILLONG, JAN 22: The opposition Congress on Tuesday assured to scrap the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill if it is voted to power at the Centre in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
This was also one of the main suggestions and recommendations which have emerged during the consultative meeting to discuss on the party manifesto for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with the different stakeholders held here in the city.
“If Congress is given the mandate to form the government (at the Centre) in 2019, the suggestions and recommendations that have come up from the stakeholders is to scrap the Citizenship Amendment Bill,” former chief minister and now Leader of Opposition Mukul Sangma said.
The Citizenship Amendment Bill passed by the BJP-led NDA government recently to provide citizenship to immigrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh has been strongly opposed by the different organisations in the North East region including Meghalaya.
Stating that the Bill reflect the “bankruptsy of knowledge” about the complexity of the problems faced by the North East region on the part of the incumbent government at the Centre, Sangma said, “…otherwise why should they try to bring an amendment which is just on the contrary to the Assam Accord which is a culmination of long drawn violence and agonising agitaitons.”
He added, “They (BJP) don’t care about the sentiments of microscopic indigenous communities of the North East.”
The Congress leader informed that the Congress if elected to power was also asked to give due importance to the true spirit of the federal system which has withstood the test of time and which has been the main force to bind the nation together.
He said the Central government disregard the federal system by failing to release the funds under the NLCPR and others thereby indirectly depriving the North Eastern states of their entitlements.
“They know the art of coming up with measures which will create obstacles and barriers so that they don’t have to release funds and indirectly deprived people of the nation,” he said adding “I am telling you under this regime, the whole federal system is under threat that will ultimately have disastrous ramification in the future and it doesn’t augur well for the nation.”
“Therefore everybody who wants to protect and defend true spirit of democracy and federal system are coming together and telling people look its time for you to wake up for my country is bigger than my uncle,” Sangma said.
Meanwhile, Sangma informed that the party will capture all the issues flagged before the consultative meetings and accordingly factor them in the party manifesto for the 2019 general elections.
“We expect also to receive the mandate of the people and we stand committed to implement (our promises) unlike the other political parties,” he said.
The Congress leader said the exercise would continue till end of the month and people representing different stakeholders can also post their suggestions and recommendations in the dedicated email of the manifesto committee at manifesto@nic.in.
By Our Reporter
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