Citizenship Bill To Face The Rajya Sabha Test Today Amidst Protests In Northeast

The government will table the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Rajya Sabha today amidst the ongoing protests in the northeast against the proposed law, India Today has reported.

You can also read in Hindi- पूर्वोत्तर में चल रहे प्रदर्शन के बीच आज राज्य सभा में नागरिकता विधेयक पर चर्चा

Home Minister Rajnath Singh will move the bill in the upper house of the Parliament. It was cleared by the Lok Sabha on 8 January and will become a law if cleared by the Rajya Sabha.

However, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) might find it difficult to pass the bill in the Rajya Sabha as it lacks the required numbers in the upper house.

The bill seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, who fled from their native countries in order to save themselves from religious persecution and came to India before 31 December 2014.

The bill will impart Indian nationality to Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians and Jains from the neighbouring countries.

However, this move by the union government has seen protests in the northeastern states, especially in Assam where the ruling NDA had to lose some of its allies like the Asom Gana Parishad. The protesters of the bill reportedly say that it goes against the Assam Accord.

Prime Minister Modi, however, has assured the northeast states in his rallies on Saturday (9 February) that the citizenship bill will not harm the interest of the people of the region but will provide relief to those embracing the “idea and ethos of Mother India”.