The Consultative Committee on Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) set up by the Arunachal Pradesh government on Monday held an all-party meeting that vowed to protect the rights of the state's indigenous people.
Held under the chairmanship of Home Minister Bamang Felix, the meeting was attended by representatives of six political parties - the BJP, Congress, NPP, JD(U), PPA and the JD(S), besides all members of the committee, an official release said here.
The parties pledged to protect the indigenous people's rights and shared their opinions on the CAB while Felix requested them to submit their views in writing to the member secretary of the consultative committee at the earliest.
The nine-member panel would meet community based organisations and students' unions on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively, the home minister said.
Felix said the views offered by various stakeholders would be taken into consideration before finalising the committee's recommendations to be submitted to the state government, the release said.
The recommendations will be based on the provisions of the Constitution and various laws and rules that protect the interests of indigenous people of the state.
The state government would present the recommendations to the central government to ensure that adequate provisions are incorporated in the CAB to safeguard the interests of the people of the state, the sources said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said on October 1 that Parliament will pass the CAB which will grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan after seven years of stay in the country even if they do not possess proper documents.
The indigenous people of the Northeastern states fear that entry of these people will endanger their identity and livelihood.
During a meeting of the North East Democratic Alliance at Guwahati, Shah, also BJP president, had said the concerns of the North Eastern states will be incorporated in the CAB and has sought suggestions on the issue.
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