Meghalaya | “Personally, I am not against CAB …”: HS Shylla

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SHILLONG | Mar 01, 2019:

After spearheading a marathon of pro-Jaidbynriew movements in the state in these past few months, outgoing Chief Executive Member (CEM) of the KHADC, Hispreaching Son Shylla on Friday gave a 'shocking' statement when he said that 'personally', he is not against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill brought by the BJP led NDA Government at the Centre.

Shylla made this remark during his interaction with Governor Tathagata Roy at the Raj Bhavan here today.

"I had told the Governor that personally I am not against the CAB since I understand that the bill was brought taking into account the interest of the country as a whole. I totally subscribed to the concern of the BJP led Government against atrocities to the Hindu populations residing in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan," Shylla told reporters after meeting the Governor here today.

Citing an example, he said that there are large number of Khasi population residing in Bangladesh.

"We would always welcome our people to come back to the State if they face atrocities in Bangladesh. We are doing this due to the emotional connection with our people. The same philosophy also relates with the concern of the BJP led Government of bringing bills like the CAB in order to bring back the Hindu population residing in the neighbouring countries," the KHADC CEM said.

Shylla, however, said that the State needs a mechanism like the Inner Line Permit (ILP) to protect the indigenous population from being swayed away by the people from outside the State.

"Our concern is the inter-State influx. There is a fear among many that the local indigenous population would be outnumbered if the entry and exit of people from outside the State is not regulated. Therefore, the only solution to keep a check on the inter-State influx is the implementation of the ILP," Shylla said.

While stating that the people of the State respect the non-tribal community, who have been residing in the State for the past many decades, he however stated that the unregulated flow of influx from outside the State will pose a huge threat to the very existence of the microscopic indigenous community.

"Therefore, we need a strong mechanism for protecting the indigenous community," Shylla added.