- NET Web Desk
Addressing the ‘Thanksgiving Meeting’ thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for passing the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
On the contentious issue of Chakma and Hajong refugees who have settled in the state, he reiterated that as per prevailing Acts and laws no non-indigenous tribe of Arunachal Pradesh can permanently settle in the state.
“The Chakma and Hajong settlers are also human. They too are suffering a lot here. Therefore, we got to evolve a win-win solution for both, them and our indigenous tribes,” he pointed and urged the MPs, particularly Rijiju to pursue with the central leadership for a permanent solution.
Informing about the recent meeting with the Arunachal Pradesh State Commission for Women (APSCW), the Arunachal Pradesh Women Welfare Society (APWWS) and the Arunachal Pradesh Commission for Protection of Child Rights (APCPCR) a day earlier, Khandu flagged the issues of girl child’s right over the property and the malice of polygamy.
Underlining the significance of Property Rights to girl child, he said, “We all love our daughters and want to give them equal rights be it of education, employment or property. But this needs a proper debate and consultancy about our indigenous identity and tribal rights specifically on property and inheritance rights.”
On polygamy, he said that it needs to become obsolete in today’s world.
“The practice must have been socially accepted in the past due to various reasons but I don’t think it is relevant today. Instead of helping the family, the practice of polygamy affects and destroys and lives of women of the family,” he observed.
Lauding the State Commission for Women, APWWS, and APCPCR for painstakingly compiling a draft bill on these subjects, Khandu assured that it will be studied in detail and extensive consultancy meetings will be held with all stakeholders to incorporate their views and suggestions before finalizing a final draft.
