Nagaland | NDPP misleading people on Citizenship Amendment Bill, says NPFLP

KOHIMA, January 19, 2019: A day after NDPP sought to dispel confusion regarding Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) 2016 in context of Nagaland vis-à-vis Article 371(A), the NPF Legislature Party (NPFLP) Friday alleged that NDPP was "intentionally" cheating, misleading and miseducating the people of Nagaland by imparting "wrong information/wrong education", which it said was "totally unbecoming of a political party ruling the State today."

In a press note, NPFLP spokesperson Imkong Imchen maintained that NPF would "never commit such a heinous crime" against its own people under any circumstances and sought to respond to "this mischievous NDPP statement".

Imchen argued that the CAB and 1955 relates to granting of Citizenship whereas 1873 BEFRA vis-à-vis Inner Line Permit was granting of permission to visit certain place/region for a certain period of time. "These two subjects cannot and should not be clubbed up together but should be always different because it is different to each other by law," he said.

Pointing out that the Act of Parliament with regard to the CAB was to grant citizenship of India and not for citizenship of a village, Imchen therefore said that "the argument of bringing the village councils or Nagaland Village & Area Council Act 1978 into the picture" was irrelevant. "It is totally wrong and mischievous and intentional misleading of Naga People," he said.

On the assertion of NDPP that they were asking for review of the bill, Imchen said "This is a shameless act to once again intentionally mislead its own people for cheap political mileage." He said their MP in Lok Sabha has not raised his objection in the House and now they claim that they have asked for review. "This is heights of betrayal and insult to the intellect of the Naga people," Imchen said.

Imchen, however, agreed to NDPP's statement that Nagaland has been exempted from the purview of 73rd Constitution Amendment of 1992 since it would amount to infringement of provision of 371(A). "We could not agree more on this, which was done during the Congress regime. Can we expect the same of the NDPP and its coalition partner to do the same?" he asked.

Imchen was however of the view that it was not at the discretion of the BJP party in Delhi since the latter was not in majority in Rajya Sabha. He, therefore, said the Bill cannot be passed as simple as it was passed in Lok Sabha. Moreover, he said there cannot be two laws in respect of one issue, adding that a Bill cannot differ between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

"In other words, if this CAB has to be reviewed, it has to go back to LS before it is finally passed in RS. This is the parliamentary procedure," Imchen said. Stating that the NPF has already explained the gist of the Bill to the people, Imchen has appealed to the legal luminaries of the state to come out with their point of view and interpretation with regard CAB so as to enlighten the people further without any political colour.

With Nagaland Post inputs