ITANAGAR: Keeping in mind the interest of the people in the northeast, the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre did not introduce the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in the Rajya Sabha , Union minister Kiren Rijiju said on Sunday."The government, respecting the sentiments of the people of the region, had decided not to introduce the bill in the Rajya Sabha even many states in the country were supporting it," the Union minister of state for home said while interacting with the media here. He said the people of the region had staged protest without understanding the pros and cons of the bill. "The apprehension was injected into the people by a few vested interest groups to create confusion," Rijiju added.Referring to his home state, the Union minister said the CAB would in no way affect Arunachal Pradesh as the state was governed by a different set of law and it was protected under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act. "Even people from other states need to take inner line permit to enter the state and foreigners need to obtain Protected Area Permit (PAP) and Restricted Area Permit (RAP)," he pointed out. "I am committed to protecting the interest and rights of the people of state," he added.Rijiju blamed the opposition parties for raising the issue of granting refugee status to Tibetans, Chakmas and Hajongs residing in the state without knowing the ground realities. The Tibetan refugees who came to India in 1959 and have settled in five refugee camps in the state, are not willing to take citizenship in India despite the Supreme Court facilitation as they have been fighting for freedom of Tibet, he said.A few Tibetans, who have married locals in the state and are trying to obtain citizenship certificate by illegal means, were denied the citizenship. "When I came to know about the issue, I said the old Tibetan rehabilitation policy should be made clear and well defined so that no refugees can avail the rights and benefits of indigenous tribal people in future," Rijiju said. "But people misinterpreted it and gave a different colour to the issue." Moreover, in the contentious Chakma and Hajong refugee issue, The Gauhati High Court said the process of granting citizenship to the refugees should be started."In 2015, the Supreme Court directed the state government to provide citizenship to the refugees within three months. However, the home ministry changed the old policy and submitted to the apex court that there would be problem to implement the order as the refugees settled in the state were illegal. As a result, they have not been granted citizenship despite the court order till date," he said. "It was because of me, the process was halted and the rights of the tribal people have been protected." On the issuance of PRC to non-Arunachalees, the trouble which claimed three lives and saw a large number of public and private properties being damaged in the state capital during February, Rijiju alleged Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee president Takam Sanjoy had spoked in support of the issue in a public meeting at Lekang a few months back. But he later dragged the Union minister's name to mislead the people.

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