Lok Sabha(lower house of Indian Parliament) on December 9 passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), reports The Northeast Today. The bill was passed after 311 members voted in favour of the bill against 80 who voted against it. Assam Tribune adds that Manipur was brought under the ambit of nner Line Permit (ILP). Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated that “Under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR), Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland have been given protection, while the ILP will be introduced in Manipur, which is a long pending demand of the valley.” In Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam, the Sixth Schedule areas have been given protection. As for rest of the State of Assam, Clause VI of Assam Accord will be implemented. East Mojo adds that according to the proposed legislation, the amendment will not be applicable to tribal areas of Assam Meghalaya, Mizoram or Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution and in the areas covered under The Inner Line notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873. The ILP regime is applicable in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram.
Additionally, The Sentinel further adds that Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated that bill will exclude almost all parts of the Northeast except two valleys of Assam-Barak Valley and Brahmaputra.
Additionally, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren has expressed profound gratification on Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s announcement that Inner Line Permit System (ILPS) would be extended to Manipur and the State would be protected from CAB, reports The Sangai Express on December 10. The Inner Line Permit System or a similar mechanism to regulate the influx of non-locals into the State of Manipur has been a long-standing demand of the people, spearheaded by the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS).
To protest the introduction of CAB, all states except Nagaland announced a shutdown against it on December 10 (today), reports Indian Express. The shut down call was given by North-East Students’ Organisation (NESO). The Chairman of NESO Samuel Jyrwa the shutdown will be 11-hour long and added that CAB will open the floodgates for “illegal Bangladeshis” and signified a “dishonouring of the demands of the people of the Northeast”.
Separately, on December 9 Assam witnessed protests breaking out despite Shah’s claim that the CAB was not against Muslims but infiltrators, adds Assam Tribune. A 48-hour Assam bandh called by the All Moran Students’ Union (AMSU) to protest against the CAB and seek Scheduled Tribe status for six communities. Protests were witnessed at Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Majuli, Morigaon, Bongaigaon, Udalguri, Kokrajhar and Baksa Districts of Assam.
Separately, shut down was effective in Tripura against the CAB, reports Lately on December 10. The shutdown was called in Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) areas. Police arrested few hundred picketers for blockading highways and single railway line connecting Tripura with the remaining parts of the country through Assam.