Aizawl, January 26: Amidst a row over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, people of Mizoram boycotted the Republic Day celebrations in the state. During Governor K Rajasekaran’s address, seats were left vacant, reported News18. According to police, only state ministers, legislatures and top officials were present at the event. Meanwhile, yesterday, students’ bodies in Mizoram, Assam and Manipur had declared that they would boycott the celebrations over the issue. Republic Day Parade 2019 Highlights: India's Diversity, Military Might Displayed at Rajpath, See Pictures & Videos.

The students’ bodies – Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) and Young Mizo Association (YMA) –passed a resolution on Wednesday in Aizawl, after thousands of students gathered to mark their protest against the controversial Bill. Students also burnt the effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Earlier, Chief Minister of the state, Zoramthanga had also threatened that his party Mizo National Front (MNF) would withdraw its support to NDA if the situation arise. He also met the PM Modi and Singh along with his Manipur counterpart N Biren Singh in Delhi and expressed his dissatisfaction over the citizenship amendment bill. Zoramthanga also informed that the Mizoram Assembly had opposed to the changes of Citizenship Act. Republic Day 2019 Celebrations: ITBP Jawans Hoist National Flag at 18,000ft in Minus 30 Degrees in Ladakh (Watch Video).

Under the new provisions of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, the six identified minority communities – namely Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians and Parsis – from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who came to India before 31 December 2014 would be facilitated. Also, the minimum residency period for citizenship is being reduced from the existing 12 years under the present law to seven years.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 26, 2019 04:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).