Amit Shah holds meeting with Assam CM, discusses safeguards vis-a-vis CAA

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday held a meeting with Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and is believed to have discussed about the possibilities of giving constitutional safeguards to the indigenous people of the state, officials said. The meeting was held amidst widespread protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in Assam.

The Union home minister is said to have discussed about giving constitutional safeguards to the indigenous people of Assam as mandated by the 1985 Assam Accord, an official said. However, the details of the two-hour long meeting which was also attended by Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma were not known immediately.

The meeting bears significance as there has been a growing feeling among the indigenous people of Assam that the newly enacted legislation will hurt their interests -- both politically, culturally as well as socially. There is a possibility of Sonowal making some announcements on welfare of indigenous people during the special assembly session convened next week, another official said.

The Assam Accord provides for detection and deportation of all illegal immigrants, who have entered the country after 1971 and living in the state, irrespective of their religion. Clause 6 of the Accord provides for giving Constitutional safeguard to Assamese people.

According to the CAA, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship. The protesters in Assam have said that the CAA violates the provisions of Assam Accord.

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