Meghalaya CM seeks complete exemption of state from CAA

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Saturday demanded that the entire state, including the non-scheduled areas, be exempted from the purview of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

He urged the Centre to take measures for protecting the indigenous communities of the Northeast.

"We are thankful that the Centre has exempted Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh (from CAA) and to a large extent Meghalaya, but we demand a full exemption for our state and similar measures for Assam as well," he said at an event in West Garo Hills district.

Most of the non-scheduled areas of Meghalaya are in Shillong and comprise around 3 per cent of the state's total area.

Observing that the Meghalaya Assembly had passed a resolution seeking implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in the state, Sangma said, "We are firm in our demand and will continue engaging with the Centre till complete exemption (from CAA) and protection is provided to our people."