Citizenship Amendment Bill passed in Lok Sabha

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed in Lok Sabha. The protests have erupted in Assam against the passage of the bill. The people of Assam fear that the amendment bill undermines the Assam Accord of 1985.

Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 seeks to amend the citizenship Act, 1955. The features of the amendment bill are:

• The bill aims to grant Indian citizenship to all persecuted religious minorities like Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Parsis from three neighbouring countries of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
• The bill is applicable to all states and union territories of the country and the beneficiaries of the can reside in any part of the country.
• The bill when passed would provide a big relief to the persecuted migrants who have come through western borders of the country to States like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and other states.

As per the reports, the government would set the cut off date at December 31, 2014, to provide citizenship to persecuted religious minorities.

Addressing the concerns against the Bill

The Union Home Minister provided the following assurance to allay fears about the bill:

• The burden of the persecuted migrants will be shared by the entire country and not by Assam alone.
• The Union Home Minister also assured full support for the state governments in the implementation of the bill.

Protestors led by Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) in Assam have imposed an economic blockade and have said that they would not allow locally produced oil, petroleum products, coal, forest products and limestone to be taken out of the state.