INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
terming as National Register of Citizens (NRC) rejects from Assam into Meghalaya, the Khasi Students' Union (KSU) set up check points along
the highway and border to keep "illegal migrants" away
Travellers from across the border are being stopped and asked about their citizenship status by KSU activists.Over 40 lakh people found
their names missing from the final draft of the NRC released on July 30
The register separates Indian citizens in Assam from those defined as "illegal immigrants".The next day, "check gates" came up at several
places in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district, West Khasi Hills district and Ri-Bhoi district
They continued "checking" vehicles for two days, but have reportedly stopped the process today
Other Northeastern states such as Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh have also intensified their border vigil"The union is apprehensive
We have often apprehended numerous illegal immigrants who tried to infiltrate through porous border
There will be a spill over after the NRC so we decided to set up check gates to prevent the influx of migrants," General Secretary of Khasi
Students Union Donald Thabah said.Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said that the union is concerned about the issue, "so they did what
they thought they should do"
"But it isn't appropriate for any non-government agency to involve in this process
The government has taken steps to check immigration
We have set up check points at different locations, and I have been personally monitoring it
All top police officials in vulnerable districts have been asked to stay alert," Mr Sangma said.Sushmita Dev, Silchar MP from Assam, wrote
to Home Minister Rajnath Singh pointing out that since the publication of the NRC, the Meghalaya Police, with the help of the Khasi
Students' Union, were stopping people from Cachar district from entering Meghalaya
The Congress leader also accused the students of beating up travellers."It's creating an environment of fear and infringing on their freedom
of movement," she said in her letter.She told TheIndianSubcontinent that the home minister said that the Meghalaya police can't ask for
immigrants from Bangladesh, has triggered similar demands from across the country, especially Northeastern states where pressure groups and
regional political parties are pressing for an NRC exercise.Manoj Tiwari, the Delhi BJP chief on Wednesday asked the centre to start work on
building a citizenship register for the national capital to identify and expel "foreign infiltrators".BJP legislator Raj Purohit has
demanded that Bangladeshis in Mumbai, especially those in Colaba, his constituency, be identified and sent back to their own conutry.The
Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh has promised a similar drive in Bengal once it comes to power
In Rajasthan, home minister Gulab Chand Kataria wants other states to come forward to introduce the citizens' list so that "the traitors
living freely can be traced".The opposition parties including Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, however, are accusing the BJP of trying
to drive out people for political reasons.The Congress claims that the debate over the poorly-implemented NRC was being given a religious
"Why we are concerned is because of the kind of polarizing politics that is being played," Congress' Pawan Khera said.
