The Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT), a tribal regional party of Tripura, today said it would launch a joint movement against the proposed Citizenship Amendment Bill, after tying up with other parties of the North Eastern region.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was introduced in the Lok Sabha to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955. A key amendment in the bill seeks to grant citizenship to persecuted minorities of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan after six years of their residence in India.
"If this bill is passed, it would be disastrous for the indigenous people living in the North Eastern region. We are meeting leaders of various parties and are working to take the lead in forging a unified front against the Bill," INPT General Secretary Jagadish Debbarma told reporters.
Debbarma recently visited Assam and discussed the bill with Asom Gana Parishad founder and former chief minister Prafulla Mahanta and, AGP president Atul Bora and others.
INPT president Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl also visited several states of the region since July 16 and met Chief Executive Member of Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) in Meghalaya, he said.
Claiming that most members of the BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) are against the Citizenship Amendment Bill and demanding its immediate rollback, he said the Bill will endanger identity of tribal people in the NE.
"The Asom Gana Parishad and the Bodo Peoples Front in Assam have demanded withdrawal of the Bill. Major regional parties in Meghalaya and Nagaland also have done the same," the INPT general secretary said.
He also hinted that the INPT and several other regional parties could form a front and fight the 2019 Lok Sabha election unitedly to oppose the BJP.
"The idea has not been explored yet. But regional parties with NEDA have started to oppose the Citizenship Amendment Bill. We will work together with all parties which are opposing the Bill," he said.
Various parties of the NE region having a long border with Bangladesh are opposing the Citizenship Amendment Bill.
Student activists staged demonstrations against it on May 21 across three NE states - Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Nagaland.
A number of organisations of Assam took to the streets of Guwahati on June 29 urging the government to accord constitutional safeguards to the indigenous people.
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