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CAB a threat to identity of indigenous people of Assam: CPI

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Nov 8 - The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill or CAB will violate provisions of the Assam Accord and, if implemented, will be a threat to the culture, language, heritage and identity of the indigenous people of Assam, according to the Communist Party of India (CPI).

The party said that constitutional safeguards for the local people of Assam will not be possible if CAB is adopted. �If the Central government is serious about ensuring constitutional safeguards for the indigenous people of Assam then it should refrain from bringing back CAB. On the one hand, you (Centre) want to bring CAB and on the other you are talking about providing constitutional safeguards to the locals. The two are totally contradictory,� said Munin Mahanta, secretary of the CPI Assam State Committee.

Mahanta said that a delegation of the party had recently met the high powered committee on implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord and presented its views.

�We have told the committee that we do not want any change in the cut-off date of 1971 as far as detection and deportation of foreigners is concerned,� said Mahanta.

He said that CPI wants full implementation of all provisions of the Assam Accord.

�The NRC update process is the outcome of the Assam Accord. If CAB comes into force it will make the entire NRC process redundant,� said the veteran Left leader.

The CPI also wants the Centre to make public the details regarding its negotiations with the NSCN (IM) and other Naga groups.

�The issue of Nagalim has repercussions for Assam. Our State has a stake in the matter. So the Central government should tell the people what it has discussed with the NSCN (IM) and the other groups and what kind of arrangement has been reached so far between the various parties in the negotiations,� said Mahanta.

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