Ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Aizawl to build a consensus on the proposed Citizenship (Amendment) bill, the NGOs coordination committee, which was protesting against the bill, has said that their leaders will meet with Home Minister Amit Shah when he comes to the state today.

Several civil society organizations and student groups were opposing the move and had earlier said that they would protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, during the Home Minister’s visit on October 5.

The BJP’S Mizoram unit had appealed to the NGO coordination committee to cancel its protest, rather to have a dialogue with Shah.

“We will submit a memorandum and discuss with him our displeasure over the Centre’s proposal to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955,” a leader of the NGO Coordination Committee was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.

The proposed bill seeks to give citizenship to Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Christian, who have fled neighbouring countries to India before December 31, 2014.

Shah is scheduled to meet Chief Minister Zoramthanga and other state leaders to discuss the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

Mizoram is protesting over the inclusion of the predominantly Buddhists, Chakma community, alleged to have migrated to the state from Bangladesh. The community comprises of around a lakh people out of the Mizoram’s 11 lakh population. The indigenous people of Mizoram fear that the inclusion of Chakmas will affect their identity and livelihood.

Earlier, Shah on October 1 declared that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) will be implemented across the length and breadth of India and every infiltrator will be thrown out of the country. While addressing a seminar on the contentious NRC and the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata, he said, “I am assuring you that each and every infiltrator in India will be shown the door.”

In the Lok Sabha Elections 2019, BJP in its manifesto promised to implement the Citizen (Amendment) Bill “for the protection of individuals of religious minority communities from neighboring countries escaping persecution.”

The final National Register of Citizens (NRC) list in Assam was published on August 31, including names of 3.1 crore people and leaving out 19 lakh names including Hindus.