Arunachal to Have a 'Final' Meeting on Citizenship Amendment Bill with All Stakeholders

Itanagar: The Arunachal Pradesh Cabinet on Monday decided to have a final discussion with all the stakeholders on the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) before sending the state government's recommendation to the Centre, an official statement said here.

The "final consultative meeting" on the issue will be held under the chairmanship of Home Minister Bamang Felix on Wednesday. The CAB is likely to be tabled in the Winter session of the Parliament.

"Considering the sensitivity of the issue, it was decided to have a final discussion with all the stakeholders together and forward the recommendations to the Union Home Ministry," the statement issued by the cabinet secretary said.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu convened Monday's special Cabinet meeting to discuss the report of the Consultative Committee on the CAB, which was submitted to the state government during the day.

The consultative committee had held meetings with political parties, students' bodies and community based organisations to seek their opinions on the CAB and to prepare a comprehensive report on the issue.

Felix had earlier said the views offered by these stakeholders would be taken into consideration before finalising the committee's recommendations to be submitted to the state government.

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 Centre to ensure that adequate provisions are incorporated in the CAB to safeguard the interests of the people of the state, official 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.

However, 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 in September, 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.