A delegation of MLAs supporting the Conrad Sangma-headed Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government will meet the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh to oppose the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016.
“The delegation of the MDA government will visit New Delhi on January 17 and we will meet the Prime Minister, as well as the Home Minister to express our opposition especially when the MDA government had already passed a resolution in the Cabinet last year in opposing the Bill,” Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister, Prestone Tynsong told reporters here on Tuesday.
Tynsong informed that the Cabinet decision opposing the Bill was officially sent to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Citizenship Amendment Bill last year.
Tynsong also said that as far as opposing the Bill was concerned, be it the MDA government or the NPP in Meghalaya and other states in the North East stood together in opposing the Bill unlike the Congress.
“The Congress is divided over the issue (Bill) and we have seen their representatives in Barak Valley of Assam supporting the Bill. But the NPP is united in opposing the Bill. The Congress party should be united and there should not be division among them on this issue,” Tynsong stated.
Tynsong informed that the during the visit to New Delhi, the MDA government would also pursue with the Union Home Minister the issue related to exempting Meghalaya from the purview of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and Coal Mines Nationalisation Act, 1973.
Tynsong said that after the consent was given by the Coal Ministry, other connected ministries like the Home, Law, Environment and others have to be involved for giving their views and consent before the matter is approved by the Union Cabinet so that the President of the country can finally issue a Presidential notification under Para 12 (a) (b) of the Sixth Schedule to exempt the two Central laws from the state.
“We came to know about this only recently after we took over the government in March last year. The views of the Coal Ministry have been there, but views from other line ministries of the Central government have to be also taken into consideration. Final decision has to be taken by the Union Cabinet because a notification has to be issued by the President of the country,” Tynsong said.