Visit to Arunachal - Minister Santana Chakma urged to condemn illegal cancellation of the RPCs & proposed relocation of the Chakmas & Hajongs outside the state
By Firstdespatch Desk Jan 03, 2024
DIYUN: The Arunachal Pradesh Chakma Students Union (APCSU) President Rup Singh Chakma today urged Cabinet Minister of Tripura Ms Santana Chakma to raise illegal cancellation of the Residential Proof Certificates (RPCs) and condemn proposed relocation of over 65,000 Chakmas and Hajongs outside of Arunachal Pradesh. Santana Chakma will visit Diyun, Arunachal Pradesh on 6 January 2024 to attend a meeting of the APCSU (Drishyamuni faction).
“The RPCs) were illegally withdrawn at the insistence of the All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union (APCSU) in 2022 and since then Chakma and Hajongs students have been denied any residence proof certificate thereby denying them access to education and employment.
It is the BJP which is in power in Arunachal Pradesh and therefore, she must raise this particular issue with the State government of Arunachal Pradesh, Union of India and the top leadership of the BJP.”- stated Mr Rup Singh Chakma.
“The Chakmas and Hajongs are also expecting Minister Santana Chakma to publicly denounce the relocation of the Chakmas and Hajongs as announced by Chief Minister Pema Khandu on 15 August 2021 and supported by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju sixty years after their settlement.
The relocation proposal was reiterated by CM Khandu in December 2022 after the settlement of boundary disputes with Assam and it is clear that State of Arunachal Pradesh has not given up the proposed relocation.”- Further stated Mr Rup Singh Chakma.
The Chakmas face systematic repression in the state despite being settled by the Union of India during 1964-1969 to beef up security in the aftermath of the 1962 Indo-China war.
Despite the two Supreme Court judgments in 1996 and 2015, not a single Chakma and Hajong migrant has been granted citizenship as on date. The descendants of the migrants are not included into the voter lists. They are denied access to various governmental schemes and the effort is still to relocate them outside the State.
“As the BJP is in power at the State level in Arunachal Pradesh and at the Centre, Minister Santana Chakma is expected to raise the denial of the rights of the Chakmas and Hajongs as guaranteed under the Constitution and judgments of the Supreme Court. It cannot be a mere tourist visit given our deplorable situation. ” – asserted Mr Rup Singh Chakma. PRESS RELEASE