New Delhi (NVI): Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah introduces the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 in the Rajya Sabha here today. The Bill seeks to grant Indian Citizenship to persons belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities on ground of religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Introducing the Bill in the Rajya Sabha the Home Minister said that it is aimed at giving a dignified life to these people who had suffered for decades as the Bill seeks to grant Indian citizenship to them provided hey fulfil conditions for the grant of citizenship.
He said, “CAB was in our manifesto and the people gave us a resounding mandate in 2019, thus it is the solemn resolve of this Government to fulfil its commitment.”
The Home Minister said that grant of citizenship will be from the date and year of the entry into India and all the cases and legal proceedings against them would be closed.
Allaying the apprehensions of the people of North-Eastern regions, Home Minister said that the linguistic, cultural and social identity of the people of the region would be preserved and this Bill contains the solution to the problems of the people of these States.
Shah said that the provisions of the amendments to the Act would not apply to the tribal area of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and the area covered under ‘The Inner Line’ notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.
While tabling the Bill in the Upper House Home Minister assured the people of Assam that their linguistic, cultural and social identity would be preserved. The Home Minister lamented that a Committee under Clause 6 of the Assam Accord (1985) was not constituted for over three decades, till Narendra Modi Government came at the centre.
