GUWAHATI, Oct 24 - Outright and wholesale rejection of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, now under examination by the Joint parliamentary Committee (JPC) would not go down well with the rest of the country and might isolate the Assamese people as the wrong man out in the group.
Observing this, senior journalist DN Chakravartty said that since the Bill would get passed in Parliament even against the resistance of the Assamese people, it would therefore be appropriate and prudent for the State to put pressure on the Centre to introduce some amendments in the Bill in order to safeguard the interests of the Assamese community.
The amendments should state categorically that it would keep Assam and the north-eastern region out of the purview of the Bill, making specific provision that Assam and the North East would not have to shoulder the burden of a fresh stream of immigrants or refugees � whatever that may be.
Chakravartty appealed to the political parties of Assam in general and the party in power in particular to convince the Government of India about the urgency of protecting the rights of the Assamese people by relieving them of the burden of fresh immigrants.
