UNC categorically says no to Citizenship Bill
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, June 26 2018:
The United Naga Council (UNC) has categorically stated that the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 which seeks to grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikh, Jain, Parsi and Christian immigrants is unacceptable.
Talking to this reporter, UNC president Gaidon Kamei said that the Bill demands serious analysis before it is passed.
The spirit behind the Bill deserves appreciation as it seeks to rehabilitate people of Indian origin who have been suffering in foreign countries.
But when it comes to rehabilitating them, the Government of India seems to be eyeing the North East particularly, Gaidon said.
All the North East States are currently plagued by myriad problems and the respective State Governments are unable to solve them.
In case the region is used as a dumping site for immigrants, the existing problems would be multiplied manifold.
"We cannot accept the Bill if the immigrants should be re-settled in the North East", asserted the UNC president.
There is no harm if the immigrants would be settled in bigger States of the country.
Yet, the Bill demands serious analysis from all perspectives before it is passed, he said.
Assam has already made it clear that they will not accept the Bill, he added.
On being enquired about the Framework Agreement signed between the Government of India and NSCN-IM, the UNC president said that Centre's interlocutor RN Ravi has been wasting time by meeting people who do not have anything to do with the dialogue process rather than working to bring an early solution.
It is a matter of serious concern if what RN Ravi has been doing is in compliance with an internal policy of the Government of India, Gaidon remarked.
Nonetheless, the decades-long political dialogue assumed the form of a time-bound process after Narendra Modi took" over as the country's Prime Minister.
The Central Government has been working to explore a solution and RN Ravi has been already given the status of a Cabinet Minister, he said.
The Government of India has been working to resolve all differences among different stake holders and this effort deserves appreciation.
It is also essential to elicit opinions of all stake holders before hammering out a permanent solution, Gaidon said.
The final solution would be a political solution, not a package.
There are still many points or terms and conditions on which the negotiating parties are unable to strike an agreement.
The announcement that a final solution would be worked out before the Nagaland State Assembly election was more of whipping up people's sentiments.
Solution to the dialogue process and the election are not related.
The UNC leader exuded confidence that NSCN-IM general secretary Th Muivah would not do anything which would hurt the interest of Nagas in the process of negotiating with the Government of India.