Citizenship Bill
bers of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities -- who came to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014 and have faced religious persecution in their home countries – eligible for Indian citizenship.
The bill was an election promise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Opposition parties have called the bill divisive, saying it links citizenship to religion and therefore violates the Constitution.
The Congress, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and the Left are among parties which have opposed the Bill. The CAB is expected to be passed in the Lok Sabha but may find it tough in the Rajya Sabha where the NDA is in a minority.
To assuage feelings of tribals from the North-east, where many feel that permanent settlement of illegal immigrants will disturb the region’s demography, states where the Inner-linePermit (ILP) is applicable sand Schedule VI areas will be kept out of the CAB.
The ILP regime is applicable in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation of 1873. Citizens from other states need permission to visit these states.and, under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution autonomous councils and districts created in Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura will be out of the proposed legislation. Autonomous councils enjoy have certain executive and legislative powers.
The refugees who meet the criteria will be given Indian citizenship after they have resided in India for five years, instead of 11 years earlier, according to the bill.
It also proposes to give immunity to such refugees facing legal cases after being found illegal migrants.
“On and from the date of commencement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, any proceeding pending against a person under this section in respect of illegal migration or citizenship shall stand abated on conferment of citizenship to him.
“Provided that such person shall not be disqualified for making application for citizenship under this section on the ground that the proceeding pending against him and the central government or authority specified by it in this behalf shall not reject his application on that ground if he is otherwise found qualified for grant of citizenship under section,” it said.
The Bill also states: “Provided further that the person who makes the application for citizenship under this section shall not be deprived of his rights and privileges to which he was entitled on the date of receipt of his application on the ground of making such application”.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had earlier said that hi s p a r t y wi l l o p p o s e t he CAB “unhesitatingly” as it violates the essence of the Constitut i o n, a nd t he i de a s t hat i t espouses. “There is no doubt that the Congress stands opposed to it.”
The Trinamool Congress (TMC), too, had previously issued a three-line whip asking its lawmakers to be present in Parliament from Monday to Thursday when t he bi l l i s expected to be tabled.
The Bjp-led NDA government had introduced the bill in its previous tenure and got the Lok Sabha’s approval. But it did not introduce it in the Rajya Sabha, apparently due to vehement protests in the North-east.
That bill lapsed following the dissolution of the last Lok Sabha.