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Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 gets nod of Cabinet
Why in news?
- Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 paving the way for its introduction in the Parliament.
More in news
- About the Amended Bill:
(1) Seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955
(2) Seeks to grant citizenship to undocumented non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.
(3) Bill shall not apply to
(a) Tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura as included in the sixth schedule of the Constitution
(b) States of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland that are protected by the Inner Line Permit (ILP). Citizens of other States require ILP to visit the three States as per the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.
(c) Exemption means that Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Parsi, Jain & Sikh communities from the three neighbouring countries will not be able to take up jobs, purchase land or settle down in these areas.
(4) Purpose of the Bill: enable acquisition of Indian citizenship by persons who were forced to seek shelter in India due to persecution or fear of it on grounds of religion and will extend the facility to the class of persons presently facing hardships and difficulties in acquiring citizenship.
- The earlier form of the Bill cleared by the Lok Sabha in January did not have these provisions.
- Northeast States erupted in protests against the Bill as 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. The National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam was updated as per the accord.
- Other Provision in the Bill:
(1) The six non-Muslim communities “shall not be treated as illegal migrant” for violating provisions under Passport Act, 1920 or the Foreigners Act, 1946 that pertains to foreigners entering and staying in India illegally.
(2) Proposes to protect the applicants under this category from all pending legal cases before any authority including Foreigners Tribunals, courts etc. Assam is the only State which has Foreigners Tribunals in place.
(3) Immediate beneficiaries of this amendment: Non-Muslim people out of the over 19 lakh people excluded from Assam’s National Register of Citizens (NRC) published on Aug 31.
(4) Enable a person belonging to the 6 communities who do not have proof of birth of his parents in support of his being of Indian origin, to apply for citizenship by naturalisation on completion of six years’ residency period in India.
(5) Seeks to insert a clause to enable Central government to de
Sources
The Hindu