'Bill against indigenous people'

The Prabajan Virodhi Manch (PVM), an anti-influx group, led by Supreme Court senior advocate Upamanyu Hazarika said the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, has ignored the fate of the indigenous people of Assam. The group made this statement in its response to the committee constituted for consideration of the bill on Thursday.
The letter, addressed to additional director of the Lok Sabha secretariat, New Delhi, said the group opposes the bill and requested the parliamentary panel to prioritize safeguarding of the rights of Assam's indigenous inhabitants.
The body said neither illegal migrants entering the state after the Assam Accord deadline of March 25, 1971, nor their children born in Assam should be granted citizenship. tnn
The PVM criticized both the state government and other political parties for not making their stand clear so far. "The silence from state government and other political parties on the matter is disturbing. It is the duty of the state government and the political parties in Assam, particularly elected representatives to the Assembly and Parliament to appraise the Centre and the committee about the gravity of threat faced by indigenous people and take necessary steps. The only way in which the indigenous people in Assam can be protected from becoming a minority, is by reserving land and other resources only for those who were citizens of India and resident in Assam in 1951 and their progeny," the PVM added.
The public suggestions sought on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, by a parliamentary panel have rekindled the debate on 'foreigners' in Assam. The Bill that proposes citizenship for migrant religious minorities (non-Muslims) from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, has run into opposition in the state with ethnic and students groups of here unanimously viewing that it would open floodgates for more migration to Assam, which in turn would further threaten the very existence of the indigenous people .
However, state's finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that India will have to accept Hindus who were compelled to leave from different countries as they have 'no other place to go'.