Govt to table citizenship bill in Parliament today

NEWDELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday will introduce in Parliament the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill that seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan escaping religious persecution there.

In the afternoon, the home minister will introduce the bill in the Lok Sabha to amend the sixdecade-old Citizenship Act and later in the day, it will be taken up for discussion and passage, according to the Lok Sabha’s List of Business for Monday.

It has triggered widespread protests in north-eastern states, with a large section of people and organisations opposing the bill,

People of Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian and Parsi who entered India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan are eligible

People who were “compelled” to seek shelter in India due to religious persecution

Should have entered India on or before December 31, 2014

saying it will nullify the provisions of the Assam Accord of 1985, which fixed March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date for deportation of all illegal immigrants irrespective of religion.

Exceptions to the bill CAB will not apply to autonomous tribal-dominated regions in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram

Areas of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram, where non-locals need prior permission before visiting

The influential North East Students’ Organisation (NESO) has called an 11-hour bandh on December 10 in the region.

The bill seeks to make mem