AMUCO president warns against Citizenship Amendment Act; urges unified opposition

Newmai News Network

Imphal: The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is dangerous legislation for a state like Manipur with a small population of indigenous people, said All Manipur United Club Organisation (AMUCO) president Nando Luwang on Sunday.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function in Imphal, Nando said that Manipur must be kept outside the purview of the Act. “If not, it is a dangerous Act for the state,” he said.

He also said that even before the enactment of the Act, Manipur started facing the problem of demographic imbalance. The crisis the state is facing currently is also related to illegal immigrants, Nando added.

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The AMUCO president said that considering the impact to be given to the state by the CAA, all the indigenous people of the state must raise their voices against the Act unitedly.

“The indigenous people should fight against the Act for the sake of the future of the state,” he said.

The issue of CAA resurfaced in the state after a Union minister recently announced that CAA will be implemented across the country soon, many civil society organisations have reiterated their steadfast stand against the Act.

The Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) had already categorically stated that the committee opposed the extension of the Act in the state.

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Manipur must be excluded from the purview of the state, it said while reminding that the centre had already announced that CAA would not be implemented in states/areas where ILP under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873 is in force.

It was stated in a letter from the Ministry of Home Affairs, foreigners division on September 27, 2020, it added. But, the recent announcement by the Union minister has created confusion among the people, the JCILPS stated.

The people of Manipur oppose CAA and it must not be implemented in the state, the JCILPS added.

Protection and Preservation Committee Manipur (PPCM), another pressure group, had raised strong objections to CAA while demanding that it should not be implemented in the state under any circumstances.

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The PPCM, in a statement on Saturday, reminded the protests by people across the northeast states against the passing of the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) by the Parliament in 2019.

In Manipur too, a conglomerate of civil society organisations known as Manipur People Against Citizenship Amendment Bill (MANPAC) was formed after the Parliament approved the legislation and agitated against the legislation.

North East Forum for Indigenous People (NEFIP) which comprises representatives from all northeast states had also opposed CAA, it reminded.

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