Shillong, The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC), here on Sunday, demanded resignation of Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy for backing the proposed amendment to the Citizenship Act, 1955.
“The Meghalaya government has opposed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (CAB) and as per the Constitution the Governor acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers. How can he take an opposite view,” HYC president Robertjune Kharjahrin said.
The indigenous people of Meghalaya were opposed to the CAB, he added.
“He (Roy) no longer has moral and legal right to continue as the Governor,” the HYC leader said and added, “If he wants to give his personal opinion nobody can stop him. But let him resign first as the Governor and then give his personal opinion on whatever he likes.”
On Saturday, the Meghalaya Governor said in Kolkata, the CAB was a step in the right direction. “It ought to have been done much earlier. I am sure that the central government will pilot it properly,” Rai said.
On Friday, the co-ordination committee of the BJP-backed Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government reiterated its opposition to the Bill after it found that the Bill was applicable in some places that were outside the scheduled areas of the state.
“We are not happy because we had made our stand clear to the central government to exempt Meghalaya from the Bill. But according to the draft Bill, it’s found to be applicable in some places that are outside the scheduled areas,” Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said.
“If the Bill can be exempted in 96 per cent areas of the state, why not exempt the whole state from its applicability,” the Deputy Chief Minister asked.
Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to introduce the Bill in Parliament on Monday after the Union Cabinet okayed it on December 4.
The cabinet approval came after Shah held consultative meetings with the Chief Ministers of the northeastern states, leaders of different political parties and civil society groups and other stakeholders in New Delhi.
