Agartala, Aug 18 – The North East Students’ Organisation (NESO), the apex body of eight major students’ groups from the region, on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to constitute a Special Commission to revise electoral rolls and delete the names of foreigners and illegal immigrants within a stipulated timeframe.
The call came alongside demonstrations held across seven northeastern states, where NESO also reiterated its opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, demanding that it not be implemented anywhere in the region.
In separate memoranda submitted to the Prime Minister, Home Minister and Chief Ministers of the northeastern states, NESO leaders highlighted the challenges posed by unabated influx from neighbouring countries. “The influx has triggered demographic changes and created deep insecurity among indigenous people, who fear losing their culture, political identity, and control over land,” the memorandum stated.
NESO Chairman Samuel B. Jyrwa and Secretary General Mutsikhoyo Yhobu further warned that porous borders are being exploited by fundamentalist groups to infiltrate the region, aggravating the threat to indigenous existence. They added that unchecked migration is straining resources, worsening poverty, unemployment, and economic instability in the Northeast.
Expressing dissatisfaction over the non-implementation of the Assam Accord even after four decades, NESO demanded concrete measures for the detection and deportation of illegal foreigners. It also called for the extension of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system across the entire Northeast and the updating of the 1951 National Register of Citizens (NRC), the only official document on citizenship.
Meanwhile, in Tripura, NESO’s concerns echo those of the Tipra Motha Party (TMP), which has been vocal against illegal infiltration. TMP supremo Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma recently led a delegation to the Election Commission, seeking a Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in the state.
