SHILLONG, Jan 30 - The Khasi Students� Union (KSU) organised a public rally in opposition against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) with the theme, �Say no to CAB�, at Motphran here today. The rally was part of the programme of the North East Students� Organisation to hold public meetings and rallies in every State of the region, NESO chairman Samuel Jyrwa said.
Shops and other business establishments downed their shutters at Motphran and Police Bazaar. Shopkeepers were also asked to take part in the public meeting.
The Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People, Garo Students� Union, Ri-Bhoi Youth Federation and other organisations lent their support to the rally.
Meanwhile, Meghalaya Urban Affairs Minister Hamlet Dohling has said that the Meghalaya Government was the first to oppose the CAB. He said the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance Cabinet passed a resolution, opposing the Bill.
�This was done even before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) came to the State to seek the opinion of the State Government, stakeholders and NGOs on the CAB,� he said addressing the gathering.
Reiterating the Government�s stand, he said it would continue to oppose the Bill and seek cooperation from the governments of other NE States to oppose the Bill.
�It is really unfortunate that the BJP Government had gone ahead to pass the Bill in the Lok Sabha despite opposition from the people of the NE region,� Dohling added.
Jyrwa said that the NESO has been opposing the Bill right from the start. �We have met the JPC on the Bill twice and registered our strong opposition, but sadly the Lok Sabha passed it,� Jyrwa said.
The Bill seeks to grant citizenship to people from Bangladesh, which the indigenous people are opposing, Jyrwa said. He added that currently, there are 140 lakh Hindus in Bangladesh and if these people come to India, �microscopic indigenous communities like the Khasis� would be reduced to a minority.
Citing the example of Tripura, he said migration of people from Bangladesh over the years has reduced the indigenous community of the State into a minority.
�We don�t want this to happen again. Therefore, all the student bodies in the region and also the political parties have come together to oppose the Bill,� he added.
�We will decide on our future course of action after what happens in the Rajya Sabha,� Jyrwa added.
