'Mizo Zirlai Pawl' Promises Massive Protests against CAA on Jan 19

By: Anumita Das

Mizoram's apex and most influential student organisation, the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) has promised that it would carry out massive protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), which has been officially implemented in the country.

Speaking with Inside Northeast, MZP president B. Vanlaltana said that the student body is opposed to the implementation of the controversial CAA, which provides citizenship to non-Muslim migrants who had illegally entered India from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan before December 2014.

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"In my opinion the CAA is a very bad act and I think it will bring disintegration in India, especially in the Northeast. This Act is harmful for the Northeast and MZP will never accept this," said the Mizo Zirlai Pawl president.

Extending his support to the protesters of the CAA in neighboring Assam, the MZP leader said, "We stand in support of our brothers and sisters in Assam. MZP will carry out mass protests across the state on January 19 to oppose the implementation of CAA in the state capital as well as in the district capitals across Mizoram."

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Speaking on the lone MP representing Mizoram in the Parliament, C Lalrosanga's 'support' for the CAA, Vanlalta said, "We totally condemn C Lalrosanga. He is a traitor. We condemn his actions in the Parliament, for not raising his voice against the CAA."

It may be mentioned here that tension had gripped the entire nation after the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was turned into the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Violent protests had erupted in Assam followed by the rest of the country. Mizoram also had been standing strong against the government's move to implement the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, thereby threatening the indigenous rights and identity of the people.

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The Northeast region had been especially opposing the CAA due to its age-old issue of influx of Bangladeshi immigrants through its borders. While Assam is continuing its agitation, the Mizoram student body has also extended its support to the most influential student body of its neighbor, the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and North East Students' Organisation (NESO).

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