Shillong, Feb. 2: The Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM), the political wing of the Khasi Students? Union (KSU), has decided to make influx of Hindus into Meghalaya a poll issue. The party wants to deny legal status to Hindu migrants who entered the state after March 24, 1971.
Party president Paul Lyngdoh released a policy statement, which said: ?Illegal Hindu migrants who have infiltrated after March 24, 1971, should not be granted refugee status?.
The policy statement, entitled ?Meghalaya?s economy and agenda for action?, said it would treat migrants coming after the cut-off date as ?illegal?.
According to the policy statement, ?the relentless entry of people from other regions of the country is a threat to the indigenous people of the state?.
It claimed that ?the exact number of ?illegal foreigners? who have entered the state is not available nor the numbers of the floating Indian population?.
While holding successive state governments responsible ?for failure? to implement the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946, the policy statement said the problem of influx, if not checked, would ?cause serious demographic imbalance in the state?.
The party emphatically announced in its policy statement that it would bring about major changes if voted to power. It said it would issue multipurpose photo identity cards to genuine citizens while a revised version of the inner line permit system, keeping all its plus points intact, would be introduced.
Other political parties in the state, however, have dismissed fears of ?influx by Hindus? as ?misleading? and a ?catchy political issue?.
Senior Congress legislator from Mawprem constituency, D.N. Joshi, was of the opinion that ?there cannot be any cut-off year for people of Indian origin, be they Hindus or from any other religion?. He was critical of the fact that while infiltration occurs from across the Bangladesh border, Hindus belonging to the country were being made scapegoats.
?People from the country have the right to settle anywhere and even the Centre would not prevent Indians from moving about in their own country,? he said.
Pointing out the ?dwindling? non-tribal population in the state, Joshi said ?due to stringent measures? such as the bar on purchase of land and lack of jobs, people from the non-tribal community have been compelled to migrate. BJP legislator from Pynthormukhrah, Alexander Laloo Hek, also felt that such laws could not be imposed. Though he did not want to comment on the issue, he sounded sceptical whether a state could raise such a demand.