Home Minister Rajnath to table Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Rajya Sabha today

Amid discordant notes from different political quarters and massive backlash in northeastern states, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will table the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which was passed in the Lok Sabha on January 8, seeks to provide citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014.

In view of the volatile situation in the northeastern state Manipur, prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC have been imposed in East and West Imphal districts.

As per the orders of the district magistrate, "Section-144 is imposed in Imphal till 12 February 2019 until further orders due to the situation arising out of intense agitation launched by various civil society organisations against the passing of Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016 in the Lok Sabha."

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and his Manipur counterpart N Biren Singh voiced their opposition to the Bill during their meeting with Union Minister Singh here recently, and urged him to not press for the Bill in the Upper House.

Replying to the debate on the Bill in the Lok Sabha on January 8, Singh had said: "The Act will not be confined to Assam, migrants can reside in any State; burden of these persecuted migrants will be shared by the whole country."

Moving the Bill, the Union Home Minister had clarified: "The beneficiaries of Citizenship Amendment Bill can reside in any state of the country. The burden of these persecuted migrants will be shared by the whole country."

"Assam alone would not have to bear the entire burden and the Government of India is committed to giving all help to the State Government and people of Assam," Singh had said.

Dispelling the misgivings, Singh had highlighted the discrimination and religious persecution faced by these communities in these countries. They have no place to go to, except India, he said.

"The Act will provide relief to persecuted migrants who have come through western borders of the country to states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and other states," he had said.

Addressing a rally in Guwahati recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also dispelled apprehensions about the Bill, saying that the rights of the people of Assam and that of other northeastern states would remain intact.