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Citizenship (Amendment) Bill tabled in Lok Sabha for passage

According to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB), 2019, members of Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after six years of residence in India.

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah will table the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday
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The controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, was tabled in Lok Sabha on Monday. 

The Bill, which proposes to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, was tabled by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the lower house of the Parliament and will be taken up for discussion and passage.

The Bill provides for Indian citizenship to the Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after six years of residence in India instead of the current mandatory stay of 11 years even if they do not possess any document.

According to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB), 2019, members of these communities, who have come from the three neighbouring nations before December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution there will be granted Indian citizenship after a mandatory period of stay.

The Union Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had cleared the Bill during a crucial meeting on Wednesday

Opposition parties including Congress have opposed the Bill saying that it discriminates on the basis of the religion of the refugee.

Following opposition from the Northeasters states over concerns that granting citizenship to illegal immigrants will disturb the region's demography, the government has said the Bill will not cover Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime areas and those tribal regions that are governed under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

"In Citizenship Act, in Section 2 in sub-section (i), in clause (b) the following proviso shall be inserted namely:- "provided that any person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, who entered into India on or before the 31st day of December 2014 and who has been exempted by the central government by or under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 or from the application of the provisions of the Foreigners Act 1946 or any rule or order made thereunder shall not be treated as illegal migrants for the purposes of this Act," the Bill says. 

In Assam, the Bill is facing huge protests with the people saying that the Bill 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.

Under the provisions of the Bill, such refugees will not be treated as illegal immigrants but will instead be given Indian citizenship after they have resided in India for five years. The current citizenship law mandates this period as 11 years.

Earlier in January this year, the bill was passed by the Lok Sabha but lapsed with the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha as they were not passed by the Rajya Sabha.

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