GUWAHATI, Dec 21 - Though the Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Districts (BTAD) will not come under the purview of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the All Bodo Students� Union (ABSU) is opposed to the Act and the organisation is of the view that the entire northeastern region of the country should be brought under the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system.
Talking to The Assam Tribune, ABSU president Promode Boro said at present, only some states of the Northeast have the ILP system. The Government of India should bring the entire Northeast under the ILP system to protect the interests of the indigenous people, he demanded. It may be mentioned here that the areas under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India and the states having ILP system are kept out of the purview of the CAA.
Boro said the ABSU is opposed to any move of the government that would affect the indigenous and tribal people of the Northeast. He said that at present, the ABSU is not actively participating in the movement against the CAA. But, he said, the ABSU has extended moral support to the anti-CAA movement launched by the All Assam Students� Union and 30 ethnic bodies of the State.
The ABSU president pointed out that it is still not clear whether a foreigner would be able to enter the Sixth Schedule and ILP areas after he or she gets Indian citizenship. He also said that the government should clarify what was its compulsion to impose the Act on the people of the Northeast. �Majority of the people in the Northeast are against the CAA. Under the circumstances, what was the compulsion of the government to bring the Act,� he questioned.
Boro said the Union government is maintaining a cordial relation with the Government of Bangladesh. If serious incidents of violation of the rights of minorities and religious persecution are going on in Bangladesh, the issue should have been taken up by the Centre with the government of that country, he added.
