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Citizenship Act gave Congress stomach ache: Amit Shah

Congress held a huge 'Bharat Bachao' rally at Ramlila Maidan against the "anti-people policies" of the Centre

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah re-assured the Northeast states on Saturday by promising that the 'culture, social identity, language and political rights' of the region will be untouched and that the Narendra Modi government is committed to protecting it. Shah added that the Congress, which conducted a 'Bharat Bachao' rally in New Delhi on Saturday, is suffering from 'stomach ache' after the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

"I assure the states of the northeast that their culture, social identity, language and political rights will be untouched and the Narendra Modi government will protect them," Shah said while addressing an election rally in Jharkhand on Thursday, adding, “We amended the Citizenship Act and the Congress got a stomach ache because of it. This is why they are inciting violence against it.”

Congress held a huge 'Bharat Bachao' rally at Ramlila Maidan against the "anti-people policies" of the Centre, to target the government on issues including the state of the economy, unemployment, and farmers' issues.

Earlier, Home Minister Amit Shah had cancelled his visit to Shillong, Meghalaya's capital, amidst massive protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in many northeastern states.

Under the sixth schedule, tribal-dominated regions in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland will be kept outside the purview of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. However, the tweak in the bill did not appease the student unions and civil society groups in Assam and other northeastern states. Massive protests were held by these groups in these regions over the bill's passage in the parliament.

The All Assam Students Union (AASU) moved the Supreme Court challenging the Citizenship Amendment Act, stating that due to the continued influx of illegal immigrants in Assam, the Centre has failed to protect the rights of the indigenous people of the state, according to news agency IANS. The AUSU claimed the Act violates the obligations of the Centre under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The petition said the Act attempts to grant blanket exemptions from the provisions of law governing the grant of citizenship to a certain class of foreigners in India, who have entered or are staying in India without valid documents.

Notably, as many as 11 petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court so far against the Citizenship Act. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has also approached the apex court to challenge the validity of Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

In the wake of the violent protests over the Citizenship Act that have marked the Northeast region of India, several countries - including Israel, the United Kingdom (UK) and France - have urged their citizens to refrain from visiting the northeast states of India and to minimize their stay there even if they have.

President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on Thursday, becoming an act of the constitution. The contentious bill was passed in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, two days after it was passed in Lok Sabha on Monday.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019, was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday with a 125-105 vote share, two days after it was passed in the Lok Sabha following a 12-hour long debate.

125 votes fell in favour of the Bill, while 105 votes were against it. The controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday, day after the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday midnight. 

The Act aims to provide 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. Several from the Northeast have claimed that the Citizenship rules puts the indigenous identity of the Northeastern regions at risk by legitimising several migrants, even though the central government has refuted any such claim.

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