Rajya Sabha retains pause to Citizenship Bill; govt to press for its passage in Budget session
NATIONAL | January 10, 2019:
The Rajya Sabha on the last day of its winter session on Wednesday did not take up the Citizenship Amendment Bill which was tabled in the house.
The government is expected to press for its passage in the brief budget session.
Amid tussle in the parliament over the Bill, Home minister Singh made a statement in the House to address apprehensions on the bill which was passed by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
The Citizenship Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible for citizenship. The Citizenship Amendment Bill was proposed in Lok Sabha on July 19, 2018, amending the Citizenship Act of 1955.
The Lok Sabha on January 8 passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill even as the entire Northeast India observed a Northeast Bandh.
The passage of the bill in the Lok Sabha led to the AGP withdrawing from the BJP-led government in Assam. Several allies of the BJP in the northeast are also opposed to the bill.
