The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill seeks to make illegal migrants eligible for citizenship under selected categories. It includes six communities- Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains and Buddhists that are immigrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
The Citizenship Amendment bill on Wednesday was cleared by the prime minister Narendra Modi-led union cabinet. Hours after, Amit Shah conducted meetings with political leaders and civil society members to consider the concerns of Northeastern states.
The Citizenship Amendment Bill
The bill has exempted the inner permit limit areas of Arunachal, Nagaland and Mizoram and regions under the Sixth Schedule in the North East. This means that beneficiaries under CAB will become citizens of India but will not be able to settle in Arunachal, Nagaland, and Mizoram. The same applies to existing citizens. The bill is likely to be introduced in Lok Sabha on Monday and will be up for discussion the next day.
Union minister Prakash Javadekar said that the government has taken care of the interest of everyone and “the interest of India”.
A large part of Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura will not be affected by this bill due to them being under the Sixth schedule Areas.
“Nothing in this section shall apply to Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution, and to the areas covered under the inner line notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873,” the Bill mentions.
The bill was passed in Lok Sabha in the last winter session in 2016 and awaited to be presented in the upper house and lapsed after the dissolution of 16th Lok sabha. The objections were raised for excluding the Muslims and minorities from Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Parties opposing/ supporting the bill
The bill has been opposed by Congress, Trinamool, DMK, Samajwadi Party, RJD, and religious parties like BJD and has argued that citizenship cannot be given based on religion. BJP ‘s Assam Ally also seems to get annoyed with the amendment in the bill said, the bill will leave the native and tribal people expose to vulnerability. Akali dal and JD(U) are likely to be in favour of the bill.
Although BJP will not face any objections in the lower house as it has a majority there. The support of JD(U) and Akali Dal will help in getting approval. It is the AAIDMK which will take a cautious approach before favouring the bill.
Considering the sparked resentment in the Northeast about fear of granting citizenship to foreigners will erode the ethnic communities living in these regions, the speculations are government might provide the provision of citizenship not leading to residency status.
This bill approval was a must for BJP as they have been strongly focusing on implementing nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The opposition has strongly opposed the Bill and the countrywide NRC.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has warned party members to avoid any absenteeism and be present in the house as the party would likely raise the bill next week.