CeNtre May soFt-PedaL citiZeNshiP biLL

The Central government is likely to soft-pedal the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016, in view of the raging protests on the matter in Assam. The bill is being seen as detrimental to the protection of the rights and the identities of the indigenous population of Assam. The bill aims to provide citizenship to persecuted minority communities like Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who had fled from their homes in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Sources from the Northeast told The Sunday Guardian that “we have a feeling that because of the strong protests, the Central government is unlikely to table the Bill in Parliament’s current monsoon session.” They hinted that the BJP is contemplating to bring a private member resolution to prompt a detailed discussion on the matter.

At the same time, sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs said that the government is unlikely to withdraw the Bill “as it will lead to adverse repercussions in some other parts of the country”.

The BJP is not keen to impose it, at least, at this stage against the wishes of the people of Assam valley. The BJP’s ally in Assam, Asom Gana Parishad, has made it clear that the day the Bill is passed in Parliament it will snap ties with it. All Assam Students Union has asserted that the agitation will continue until the Bill is withdrawn.