NEW DELHI: In a complete U-turn of its position on the contentious issue of granting citizenship to Chakma and Hajong refugees settled in Arunachal Pradesh, the government said on Tuesday that it will tell the Supreme Court that its order to give citizenship to the refugees is not implementable.
Minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju said Arunachal Pradesh is a protected territory and if citizenship is given to Chakma and Hajong refugees, it will create an imbalance in the social structure of the state.
Mr Rijiju’s assertion negates the decision taken last week at a meeting chaired by home minister Rajnath Singh to grant citizenship to around one lakh refugees from the two communities, honouring the Supreme Court’s 2015 order.
At present, the refugees don’t have citizenship and land rights but are provided basic amenities by the state government.
After the meeting chaired by Mr Singh on September 14, the Centre appeared keen on giving the refugees Inner Line permits, required for non-locals in Arunachal Pradesh to travel and work.
The meeting chaired by Mr Singh was also attended by chief minister and national security advisor Ajit Doval, besides Mr Rijiju. Soon after that meeting, Mr Rijiju had tried to give a political spin to the controversy by blaming the Congress for the tricky situation.
The union minister had said that a “middle ground” for the issue would be adopted by the government so that the 2015 SC order to grant citizenship to Chakma and Hajong refugees could be honoured without diluting the rights of the local population.
