CAA will not have any impact in Meghalaya: CM Conrad Sangma

Meghalaya CM Conrad K Sangma on Tuesday said the Citizenship (Amendment) Act will not have any impact in the state since the sixth schedule areas have been exempted from its purview even as several organisations including the North East Students Organisation burnt copies of the CAA notification to protest its implementation.

NESO chairman Samuel B Jyrwa led the protest at the Khasi Students Union (KSU) monument, adjacent to the Raj Bhavan here. NESO constituents in other NE states also protested by burning copies of the notification.

Other leaders of the KSU, one of the constituents of the NESO in Meghalaya, also joined in the protest. KSU President Lambok and General Secretary Donald Thabah were also at the protest site.

Speaking to reporters, Sangma said “From Meghalaya’s point of view, it (CAA) doesn’t really impact us much because the Sixth Schedule areas are completely exempted from the CAA and hardly we say 99.9 % but it is actually 99.9999%. Only a small section is a non-scheduled area in the state. The entire Sixth Schedule area has been exempted so it will not have any impact on the state of Meghalaya”.

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Asked if the state government will continue to pursue with the Centre to fully exempt Meghalaya from the CAA, Sangma said, “There is hardly municipal area of 2-3 or this entire European ward of 2 sq km or 1sq km or whatever it is really not a big impact as the entire of the state is exempted from it”.

“I think we are looking at that one dot which is there and not realising that the rest of 99.9999% is not included, that is what is important to note. That one dot is there because of a technical issue otherwise the entire Sixth Schedule area is exempted from the CAA,” he added.

Most tribal areas in northeastern states, including those granted special status under the 6th Schedule of the Constitution, have been kept out of the purview of The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, which came into effect on Monday.

The CAA seeks to grant citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis who came to India on or before December 31, 2014 from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after facing religious persecution.