The North East Students’ Organisation (Neso) on Monday said BJP national president Amit Shah’s statement on the citizenship amendment bill was an insult to the people of the region.

Shah had told a Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha rally at Lakhimpur in Assam on Sunday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would reintroduce the bill in Parliament if the BJP returns to power.

Neso chairman Samuel B. Jyrwa said in a statement here on Monday, “We strongly condemn Shah’s statement. It is an insult to the people’s movement in the Northeast against the citizenship (amendment) bill. The statement is also a clear reflection of their mindset which indicates that they don’t have any regard for the sentiments, emotions and welfare of the indigenous peoples of the Northeast. Rather, their design is to reduce the microscopic indigenous communities to a minority by flooding the region with illegal Bangladeshis to achieve their Hindutva objective.”

The bill, which endorses citizenship for religiously persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who entered India till December 31, 2014 and after a mandatory stay of six years, was passed in the Lok Sabha on January 8 but could not be tabled in the Rajya Sabha because of mass opposition.

“Neso reiterates its stand that it is against illegal migrants from Bangladesh and does not differentiate them on the basis of religion. We would like to send a clear message that we will never accept this draconian bill. We call upon all the indigenous people of the Northeast to stand united to thwart such evil designs for the survival of our race, identity, culture, language and future generations,” Jyrwa said.

The bill has been widely opposed in the Northeast since it was introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2016. Only a handful of organisations in some pockets have supported the bill.

Several other organisations, including the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), a peasant rights body, have been opposing the bill too.

The Neso and the KMSS have been lobbying with political parties across the country to stop the bill from being passed in Parliament.

Meghalaya chief minister and president of National People’s Party (NPP), Conrad Sangma, successfully led regional parties and organisations in this endeavour.

The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), a constituent of Neso, also condemned Shah’s statement.

“We, the people of the region, have rejected the bill and will continue to do the same in future. After so much opposition to the bill, Shah’s comments are condemnable,” AASU president Dipanka Kumar Nath said.

Apart from AASU, the other units of Neso are the Khasi Students’ Union, the Garo Students’ Union, the Naga Students’ Federation, the Mizo Zirlai Pawl, the Twipra Students’ Federation, the All Manipur Students’ Union and the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union, which represent the eight major student movements of the seven northeastern states.