People from north-east living in Pune hold anti-CAA protest

Several people from the north eastern states of the country residing in Pune on Saturday held an anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protest.

The march started from Bal Gandharva auditorium and culminated at Deccan Gymkhana bus stop.

"We oppose CAA because the north east states have faced the brunt of illegal immigration. We want to protect our land, our ethnicity and culture. The identity of the north east is being lost due to illegal immigrants," said one of the protesters from the Northeast Community Organization Pune (NECOP).

The CAA "undermines" the 1985 Assam Accord and that is the biggest concern among people from the states in the region, she said.

According to the Assam Accord, any person who can't prove their ancestor's presence in India before March 24, 1971, will be deemed as an illegal immigrant, a release from the protesting groups said.

"The Assam Accord did not discriminate on the basis of religious minorities, but the present act has tried to change the definition of illegal immigrants in the state of Assam," said the release.

According to CAA, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 and facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants, and be given Indian citizenship.