Meghalaya's concerns over CAA addressed, ILP should be extended: Conrad Sangma

There are enough provisions in the CAA right now to protect us, from setting the cutoff date to giving 99.9 percent exemption… all these points are present.: Sangma

PTI, Shillong, Feb 18, 2024 :  Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has said Meghalaya’s concerns over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act have been addressed as most areas in the state fall under the Sixth Schedule, which exempts them from the law. Is .

National People’s Party (NPP) chief Sangma, while speaking to PTI, also stressed on the need for Inner Line Permit (ILP) in his state, which will restrict the entry of ‘outsiders’.

Sangma said, “There are enough provisions in the CAA right now to protect us, from setting the cutoff date to giving 99.9 percent exemption… all these points are present. “But we have still raised our concerns with the Government of India, and we have also asked for an extension of the ILP or some other mechanism that will help us address those concerns.”

“We have asked whether non-scheduled areas can also be exempted (from the law),” he said.

He said, ‘When the first draft of CAA came out, there was no provision for exemption for any state. We raised concerns, after that we met the Home Minister, we met other leaders, then the entire draft was reconsidered and they came up with a provision under which Meghalaya and other areas with Sixth Schedule and ILP were exempted.” ,” Sangma told PTI.

“In every area in Meghalaya, except a few square metres in Shillong… small area which we call European ward, is the only area which is a non-scheduled area. Majority of the state is scheduled area. Once an exemption is there, we don’t have any concerns. So our concerns have been addressed,” Sangma said.

“We have just requested the government of India if we can still have the ILP… Because whatever happens in other states could have spillover effect here; we have requested for that. We are happy that the government of India exempted Meghalaya. We have asked if the non-scheduled area can also be exempted, though it is very, very small,” he said.

He also mentioned a resolution passed by the state assembly to extend the ILP to the state.

The Meghalaya assembly in December 2019 had adopted a resolution for implementing the ILP regime in the state. The ILP is a special permit required by “outsiders” from other regions of India to enter the states of Arunachal, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Manipur.

“Our concerns are that anybody from outside the country is a non-Indian, and illegal immigration is illegal immigration. Citizens coming from other countries would be in a way foreigners coming into our country,” he added.

Passed in December 2019 by the Parliament, the CAA grants Indian nationality to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, who arrived in India till 31 December, 2014.

Home Minister Amit Shah has said that the rules for implementing the CAA will be issued before the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

The provisions of the Act will not apply to the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura, included in the 6th Schedule of the Constitution.

The 6th Schedule protects tribal populations, providing autonomy to communities through the creation of autonomous development councils, which can frame laws on land, public health and agriculture.

Asked about Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh’s statement on deporting those who have come in the state after 1961, Sangma said that it is for the state and the union governments to decide, but added, “The situation in Manipur is complicated and those decisions will have to be taken keeping ground factors in mind. It is for the government of India and the government of Manipur to decide,” he said.

“From a practical point of view, it is very complicated. How will they implement that decision has to be equally looked into,” he added.