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Our Reporter
Dimapur, Jan. 18 (EMN): Accepting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) would mean outsiders snatching the daily bread of the people and breaking a peaceful state that had been living in harmony before the entry of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
This was the sentiment shared by protestors at the ‘Nagaland against CAA,’ a protest against the Act led by members of the Naga public on Saturday, January 18 at the Supermarket in Dimapur.
A number of people from all walks of life gathered at the Supermarket for a peaceful protest against the controversial CAA. The protest, which started from a social media platform, was taken to the streets on Saturday.
The message at the protest rally was loud and clear: "Nagaland stands united against CAA." The protestors also carried placards that had slogans "Make Tea not War." However, most of the speakers at the event lamented the turnout of the people, which was relatively poor considering active participation and discussion on social media groups.
The Dimapur GB Federation expressed concern, asking how Nagas could let “outsiders come to our land to snatch our earnings” when there were very few (Nagas) who could stand on their own feet. The federation affirmed that as the guardians of the state, they would never support or allow the CAA/NRC.
The Nagaland University Students' Union, Lumami, voiced out against the Act and stated that it was time Nagas come out of the four corners of their room to the streets; fight for a genuine cause, and be more productive.
It may be mentioned that a number of protestors from the neighbouring state of Assam too joined the protest.
The protest rally had no political colour or party funding it. However, a business committee offered free tea to the protestors by setting up a free tea stall.
NPF opposes CAA
The Naga People’s Front (NPF) has iterated its stand against the recently passed Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019, stating the “party could foresee the danger looming large for the future generation” if the Act is enforced.
The party stated through a press release issued by its press bureau that it will stand by its earlier resolution to oppose the Act, which it said, is not only “against the principle enshrined in the NPF constitution but it is also totally against the spirit of secularism as envisage in the constitution of India”.
The NPF recently suspended its Rajya Sabha MP KG Kenye from both primary and active membership of the party weeks after serving show cause notice for voting in favour of CAA. It also served a separate show cause notice to its Lok Sabha MP from Manipur, Dr. Lorho S Pfoze, for the same reason but he was not suspended.
“The CAB/CAA is nothing but purely a ‘politics of divide’, and the party challenge the Naga people who supported this Act to come out clean and declare their stand openly as for the party will not act from behind the screen and, therefore, the party take stand for the sake of our future generations and will go against this CAB/CAA however small the party may be,” read the press release.
The party also expressed apprehension that the CAA will open the floodgate for illegal migrants to enter India and “slowly flood all over the region including Nagaland state in due course of time”. Stating that “it is absurd to take shelter under ILP”, it expressed the need to “take a strong measure against it (the Act).