Citizenship bill in focus as budget session of Nagaland

The contentious citizenship bill will be in focus in the budget session of the Nagaland assembly that begins from Thursday, with the state government set to adopt a resolution against the proposed legislation.

Minister for Planning and Coordination, Neiba Kronu, said the Nagaland government would table a resolution against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, on February 23.

The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha during the Winter Session on January 8, but could not be tabled in the Rajya Sabha, meaning it has now lapsed.

The legislation proposes to accord Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after seven years of residence in India instead of 12 years, which is the norm currently, even if they do not possess any document.

Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, who also holds the finance portfolio, will present the full budget for the fiscal 2019-20 on February 25.

The state government is also scheduled to table the supplementary demands for grants for the fiscal 2018-19 in the budget session that concludes on February 26.