CoMSO threatens to move SC against CAB, 2019

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaDecember 7, 2019

SHILLONG: The Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organization (CoMSO) has announced that it will hold a protest on December 9, to demand the immediate scrapping of the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB), 2019.

The conglomerate of social organizations led by the Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) has also threatened to go to the Supreme Court to challenge the proposed legislation.

The Bill, which has created strong resentment in Meghalaya and the other northeastern states, is set to be tabled in the Parliament next week, after the Union Cabinet has given its clearance to the draft law.

Aiming to provide citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Bill has been slammed by several political parties as communal and divisive.

After an emergent meeting held here on Saturday, chairman of the confederation Robertjune Kharjahrin told reporters that the protest will be held in the state capital on Monday but it will be a surprise one.

“Our protest will continue until the CAB is scrapped as the Centre has only partially exempted the state of Meghalaya from its ambit,” he said.

Terming the Centre’s decision to exempt only the scheduled areas of the state as “fake”, Kharjahrin, also the HYC chief said if the CAB is still applicable in the 3 percent areas which fall outside the scheduled areas this will no doubt create unnecessary law and order problem.

“I can sum up by saying that there is no difference between the CAB, 2019 and the CAB, 2016. Therefore, we totally reject the Bill as it is against the interest of the indigenous people of the state, which is yet to have laws like the ILP in place,” he said.

According to him, the new CAB, 2019 allows Hindus from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to acquire Indian citizenship if they could prove their residency in India for five years as against six years prescribed in the previous version of the proposed legislation.

“This was also not exempted. Now it’s just a matter of five years where the 2 crore Bangladeshi Hindu will be Indians,” he added.

The CoMSO has also appealed to all the Members of Parliament (MPs) in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to oppose the passing of the CAB.

“We also urge the union home minister Amit Shah not to re-introduce the CAB in the Parliament. If the BJP-led NDA government fails to listen and respect the sentiments of the indigenous people, we will file a petition before the Supreme Court that the Bill be scrapped,” the chairman said.

Maintaining that seeking the judiciary’s intervention will be as the last resort, Kharjahrin however said that the Confederation will also write to the President of India Ram Nath Kovind to urge him not to grant assent to the contentious Bill, if at all it is passed by both Houses of Parliament.

Asked, he said the move of the ruling BJP at the Centre is to first provide citizenship to Hindu migrants from the three foreign countries by passing the CAB and then flush out all Muslims through the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

“However for us an immigrant is an immigrant. Therefore, we also demand the implementation of the NRC to detect, delete and deport all illegal immigrants with 1971 as the cut off year. Without this, we will not accept,” Kharjahrain added.

To a query, the chairman said that CAB in its present form is a fit case to file a petition before the Supreme Court as it is providing citizenship based on religious lines. “We hope that the Supreme Court will protest the rights and interests of the tribal indigenous communities of the Northeastern region,” he added.