NSF members in Nagaland Governor house. Image: Northeast Now
NSF members in Nagaland Governor house. Image: Northeast Now

The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) on Tuesday held a peaceful sit-in demonstration against contentious CAB outside Raj Bhavan in Kohima.

Speaking at the protest venue, NSF president Ninoto Awomi said though Nagaland has ILP provision, the state is not being able to control the influx of illegal immigrants even due to “poor mechanism in place”.

“Entire northeast is like one block,” he said.

“If CAB is imposed even on a small pocket, it will be like opening another porous border for the entire region and Nagaland, along with the northeast will be affected by the influx of illegal immigrants,” he added.

Calling CAB anti-minority and anti-indigenous people, Awomi appealed to the Union government at a meeting in New Delhi on December 3 to respect the sentiments and aspirations of the minority northeastern region.

He said the government should protect its citizens instead of sheltering illegal migrants.

Former NSF president NSN Lotha said the bill is against the fundamental right to equality as it singled out certain religion. He expressed concern over the unrecorded data of refugees entering the northeastern region.

Lotha further said Nagaland is the most threatened state by the influx of illegal immigrants after Assam and appealed the people to be united in their fight against the bill.

The 11-hour bandh called by NESO in the Northeast to protest against the bill had no effect in Nagaland as the state was exempted from the strike due to the ongoing Hornbill Festival.

Bhadra Gogoi is Northeast Now Correspondent in Nagaland. He can be reached at: [email protected]