ITANAGAR: The Chakma Development Foundation of India (CDFI) has criticised Minister of Earth Sciences, Kiren Rijiju, for disregarding the Supreme Court’s orders to handle citizenship applications from Chakma-Hajong migrants in Arunachal Pradesh.
In response to Rijiju’s recent remarks, Suhas Chakma, the Founder of CDFI, called on the Minister and the governments to uphold legal integrity by submitting a statement to the Supreme Court if they oppose granting citizenship to migrants in Arunachal Pradesh.
“Minister Rijiju or the state government of Arunachal Pradesh or even the Centre can file an affidavit in the Supreme Court to the effect that citizenship applications of the migrants are not being processed because they do not wish to grant citizenship in Arunachal Pradesh. The apex court shall deal with the issue in accordance with the law,” he stated through a statement issued on Tuesday.
Chakma also highlighted the contradiction between Rijiju’s stance and Prime Minister Modi’s directive from December 7, 2021.
“Chakmas and Hajongs have been voting in Arunachal Pradesh for the last 20 years after having been given citizenship by birth in the State. There is no political party or government in this country which has the power to remove these Indian citizens against their will in violations of the Article 19(d) and Article 21 of the Constitution of India,” the statement added.
Earlier on Monday, Rijiju had asserted that the Chakmas and Hajongs would be relocated outside the state, as efforts are underway to find a suitable place for their resettlement, and they would not be granted Indian citizenship in Arunachal Pradesh.
“The Chakmas and Hajongs were relocated to the state in the 1960s during the tenure of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and their population has doubled since then. Deporting them abruptly is not feasible. Our challenge lies in facilitating their departure from the state in a humanitarian manner. We have conveyed this message unequivocally to them – under the BJP’s governance, they will not be granted citizenship in Arunachal Pradesh,” he told a local news broadcaster on Monday.
The Chakmas, originally from the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the then East Pakistan, are Buddhists, while the Hajongs, also from the same region now in Bangladesh, are Hindus.
Both communities, displaced after the construction of the Kaptai Dam in 1962, entered India through open borders and are dispersed across various Northeastern states.
