New Delhi: Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday held discussions with leaders of political parties, students bodies and civil society groups of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya on the contours of the proposed Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB).
According to sources, Chief Ministers of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, Union minister Kiren Rijiju, and several MPs attended the meetings. Most regional parties and civil society groups raised the issue of how CAB could affect the tribals.
Sources said the home minister has indicated to the lawmakers that the CAB may not affect the tribal areas protected by the Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime and those governed under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
These areas may be exempted from the ambit of the proposed Bill, Shah is believed to have conveyed to the delegations.
Later, Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma reportedly said even though most of the civil society groups have opposed the earlier Bill, the new the redrafted bill will ensure that the interests of the ILP-regime areas and the Sixth Schedule areas are protected. Sarma also said separate legislation may be brought on the recommendations of a committee set up by the home ministry to look into the options of providing constitutional safeguards to the indigenous people of Assam.
The Assam-based political party AIUDF, headed by Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, has opposed the Bill, which aims to give citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from three neighbouring countries.
The home minister is holding meetings in the wake of strong protests in the Northeast against the Citizenship Amedment Bill.
