Members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who come from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan facing persecution there, will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship when the proposed amendments to the six-decade-old Citizenship Act come into effect.
According to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which was distributed among MPs, the new law, however, will not be applicable in the Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime areas and those tribal regions which are governed under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
The controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB), which generated widespread protests in the Northeastern States, is expected to be tabled in Lok Sabha on Monday for consideration and passage. The Bill says the refugees entered before December 31, 2014 are eligible to get Indian citizenship.
The Bill also proposes to give immunity to such refugees facing legal cases after being found as illegal migrants. The Bill also says: “Provided further that the person who makes the application for citizenship under this section shall not be deprived of his rights and privileges to which he was entitled on the date of receipt of his application on the ground of making such application”.
According to the proposed legislation, the amendment will not be applicable to the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram or Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution and in the areas covered under The Inner Line, notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.