After Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said that more than 67000 Chakma-Hajong refugees would be relocated from Arunachal Pradesh to Assam, CM Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma clarified there has been no such proposal.
Assam CM Himanta stated, “There is no such proposal. Neither Chakma-Hajong leaders met me nor has the Central Government contacted me on this issue. I have agreed to provide Permanent Residence Certificate to few hundred Assamese people living in Arunachal Pradesh. I will talk to him after the election.”
“They are staying in Arunachal Pradesh as guests. They are not entitled to get a permanent resident certificate (PRC) of citizenship in the frontier state,” Rijiju said on Tuesday.
“The Citizenship Amendment Act or CAA is a blessing for Arunachal Pradesh. It is out of the purview of Arunachal Pradesh. The CAA grants citizenship to non-Muslim migrants – Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians – from the three countries. So we will not grant them citizenship or permanent residents in Arunachal.” He claimed, “We are already in touch to the Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma about the resettlement of Chakmas in Assam. It is a big issue. There is also resistance from local residents.”
He mentioned, “We initiated talk with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. But we don’t want to make it public. We have been trying for their resettlement for the past three years. We are looking for suitable land for their resettlement. When we will get land we will tell them to leave the State.”
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