New Delhi, July 16
The government today clarified in the Lok Sabha that the core objective of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was to grant Indian citizenship to members of minority communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh even if they do not have valid documents.
Thousands of persons belonging to religious minorities from Pakistan (41,331) and Afghanistan (4,193) were living in India on a long-term basis, it said.
MoS for Home Nityanand Rai said the Bill was initially introduced in the LS three years ago as the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016, and was then referred to a joint parliamentary committee that submitted its report on January 7 this year. “The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was passed by the LS on January 8, 2019. It was pending for consideration and passing by the RS. Consequent to the dissolution of 16th LS, this Bill has lapsed,” Rai said in a reply to a question by Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi.
The minister said the Citizenship Act, 1955, treats such persons as “illegal migrants” and disentitles them from applying for Indian citizenship. But the government issued a notification on October 24, 2018, to facilitate expeditious grant of Indian citizenship only to the legal migrants from the six minority communities from the three nations, if they fulfil the eligibility criteria. — TNS
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