Exempt Manipur from Citizenship Amendment Bill: BJP MP

BJP MP from Manipur Rajkumar Ranjan Singh requested the Home Ministry on Thursday to exempt the northeastern state from the purview of the Citizenship Amendment Bill.

Speaking during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, the parliamentarian from Inner Manipur constituency said he would like to draw the attention of the Government of India to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill that is going to be placed in the ongoing winter session.

"There is a lot of hue and cry in my state of Manipur. People are apprehensive of this new citizenship law. They believe that if this new law is enacted, there will be huge influx of migrants in the state," he said.

So, people in Manipur vociferously demand exemption from this law.

"Supporting the sentiments of my people, I would like to urge upon the Union Government, particularly the Ministry of Home Affairs, that an exemption clause or a safeguard clause may kindly be added for the State of Manipur in the proposed legislation," he said.

It is reliably learnt that some safeguards are likely to be given to the northeastern states, he said, adding that it came in the media that exemption will be given only to those states where the inner line permit system is enforced.

This means this law will not be applied in Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram. Other northeastern states like Manipur shall come under the purview of this new citizenship law, he added.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill intends to grant Indian nationality to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.