Arunachal Pradesh CM withdraws PRC order after Arunachal violence

Guwahati: A day after violence rocked Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu was compelled to withdraw the decision of his government to grant permanent resident certificate (PRC) to non-Arunachal Pradesh Schedule Tribe (non-APSTs) communities of Namsai and Changlang districts.

Mr Khandu said, “Keeping in view the present situation, the government has decided not to take up the PRC matter in the current Assembly session.”

In view of the violence, the state government has suspended all Internet services for the next 24 hours with immediate effect in order to avoid rumour mongering through social media platforms. The problem had started soon after Mr Khandu and his deputy, Chowna Mein, announced that the government was planning to table the recommendation of the Joint High Power Committee on granting PRC to non-APST communities. More than 18 organisations, mostly from Namsai and Changlang district, not only opposed the announcement but also called for a 48-hour bandh against the proposed move to grant PRC to several communities.

The tension has been prevailing in the area since the non-APST communities of Namsai and Changlang districts organised a rally in Mahadevpur in Lekang Assembly constituency seeking PRC for the people belonging to communities such as Deori, Sonowal, Kachari, Moran, Adivasi, and Mishing. The government had formed a Joint High Power Committee to study and send recommendation to the government on granting PRC to non-indigenous citizens of the state.

The 48-hour bandh called from Thursday was peaceful. However, on Friday night, it turned violent with protestors resorting to stone pelting and vandalism all across Itanagar. In fact, the venue for the first Itanagar International Film Festival at IG Park was also vandalised as protestors clashed with police.

The protestors were so aggressive that they also set ablaze the AAPSU office as well.