The Rajya Sabha, on the 12th of February, will discuss Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
The Lok Sabha, on the 8th of January, passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which promises citizenship to individuals belonging to communities such as the Sikhs, the Hindus, the Jains, the Buddhists, the Christians and the Parsis from countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Any migrant of the aforementioned communities, who is residing India from before the 31st of December 2014 and has verified documents, is eligible to apply for citizenship.
Rajnath Singh, the Home Minister of India, will present the Bill in the Upper House of the Parliament (Rajya Sabha.)
Amid protests in Northeastern States like Meghalaya, Assam, Mizoram, etc., the Rajya Sabha will discuss and pass the bill.
The residents are protesting against the Citizenship Bill because in the aforementioned Northeastern States, the communities and tribes believe in keeping the outsiders away.
The residents of Assam are protesting against the Bill as it goes against the Assam Accord signed between the student bodies and the Central Government in 1985. According to the Assam Accord, illegal migrants should be identified and deported from the State.
Though Rajnath Singh, during the Lok Sabha session, assured the people of Assam that the burden of the migrants will be taken by the whole Country, the protests in Assam continue.
States like Mizoram, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh called for a black day and are protesting against the Bill.
Stay tuned for further updates.
