Most Tribal Areas Of Northeast To Be Exempted From Purview Of CAA

As per the law, Northeastern states with Inner Line Permit and autonomous councils will be exempted from the purview of CAA.

The CAA law won't be implemented in all the tribal areas of Northeast

Source : Getty

The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, won't be implemented in most areas in Northeastern states, including those granted special status under the 6th Schedule of the Constitution, reported news agency PTI. 

As per the law, it won't be implemented in all Northeastern states where an Inner Line Permit (ILP) is required for a visit by people from other parts of the country.

Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Manipur are the states where ILP is in force. 

Exemption has also been granted to those tribal areas where autonomous councils were created under the 6th Schedule of the Constitution, said the officials quoting from the rules of the law that were notified on Monday. 

Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura are such states where autonomous councils are in existence. 

These include Karbi Anglong, Dila Hasao, and Bodoland Territorial Council areas in Assam, Garo Hills in Meghalaya, and tribal areas in Tripura.

The CAA which came into effect on Monday 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. 

While the Bharatiya Janata Party lauded the move and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the opposition leaders criticised it saying it would allow anyone to become an Indian citizen. 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that PM Modi delivered on another commitment and realised the promise of the makers of the Constitution. 

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee  that she would fiercely oppose it if found discriminatory against certain groups of people living in India

Assam Congress MLA and the Leader of Opposition in the Assam Assembly Debabrata Saikia said that the Assam Accord already safeguards the indigenous Assamese people. 

But the new act will now allow anyone who came to Assam or India up to 31 December 2014 to become an Indian citizen and avail all the benefits, he added.