New Bill To Amend Citizenship Act  Introduced By The Modi Government

The government on 24 January introduced a bill in Parliament to amend the Citizenship Act so that Hindus, Sikhs and other minorities of Indian descent could be granted citizenship even if they do not provide required documents. Home Minister Rajnath Singh while introducing the bill said many persons of Indian origin of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan have applied for citizenship but unable to provide proof of their Indian origin.

“It is proposed to amend the Schedule 3 of the Act to make applicants belonging to minority communities from the aforesaid countries eligible for citizenship by naturalisation in 7 years instead of existing 12 years,” he said.

Thousands of Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians and Parsis have entered India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan after facing religious persecution but have faced difficulty in getting Long Term Visa (LTV) or Citizenship due to existing laws.In its election manifesto before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had declared India as “a natural home for persecuted Hindus” who “shall be welcome to seek refuge”.

Since coming to power the Modi government have given several concessions to the persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians and Parsis of the neighbouring countries that include allowing such people to buy residential properties, procuring PAN cards, Aadhaar card, driving licence, opening bank accounts, lowering of visa fees besides others.