Opposition to the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 was expressed by Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga and civil society organisations of the State during their meetings with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday.

Shah was on a day-long visit to the State, his first since assuming office.

Zoramthanga met Shah at the Raj Bhavan and told him that people of the State are opposed to the CAB, an official statement said.

The proposed amendment to the Citizenship Act, 1955 could "open floodgate of illegal immigrants" to the north State, it said.

The chief minister urged Shah for raising two battalions of Mizoram Border Guard Force to be deployed along the Mizoram-Myanmar and Mizoram-Bangladesh international borders, it said.

The Assam Rifles guard the Mizoram-Myanmar borders, while the vigilance at the Mizoram Bangladesh borders is entrusted to the Border Security Force. However, there have been complaints of infiltration from the two neighbouring countries and the state home department had on earlier occasions sought the creation of such a batallion by the Centre to guard the border areas.

The Mizoram NGO Coordination Committee, an umbrella organisation of major civil society bodies and student associations of the State, changed its plan to hold a protest rally during Shah's visit and opted to meet him instead and place its demands.

During the meeting the committee submitted a memorandum demanding that the CAB should not be legislated in Parliament but if it is done then Mizoram and other north eastern states who are opposed to it should be exempted from its ambit, a press release issued by the NGO body said.