Opinion on Citizenship Bill appears divided in Assam

Opinion on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 appeared divided in Assam, following the political parties voicing support to it in the Barak valley after opposing the bill in the Brahmaputra valley.

Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) Chairman Rajendra Agarwala said 315 organisations of the Barak valley had submitted their opinion on the bill to the panel, which concluded its two-day hearing here today.

Official sources said the majority of the submissions made before the committee in the Barak valley supported the bill, contrary to the May 7 hearing at Guwahati, where protests against it were held by parties across the political spectrum.

Speaking to reporters before leaving Silchar, Agarwala said the opinions of organisations and individuals from Karimganj, Hailakandi and Cachar districts were taken verbally as well as in writing, adding that the JPC would submit a detailed report to the appropriate authority.

Senior BJP leader in the Barak valley Kabindra Purkayastha told reporters, "The bill will certainly be passed and all the people who came to India till December 31, 2014 will be accommodated as citizens of the country.

"The Hindus, Christians, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis and Buddhists, who come to India from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, are illegal migrants. For them to apply for Indian citizenship, there has to be a provision in the Indian Citizenship Act."
The bill had also been opposed by Assam BJP women's wing leader Meera Borthakur in Guwahati. She had said, "A foreigner is a foreigner, whether Hindu or Muslim. The Assamese people have not become so weak that we need to import people from Bangladesh."
Pointing out that there were barely any protests against the bill in the other north-eastern states, as all the resources, land, government jobs, trade licenses were reserved for their local indigenous people, Hazarika said, "A citizen from the rest of the country, including Assam, does not enjoy a right over the resources in these states. As a result, no one from the rest of India or Bangladesh settles down in these states."