Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Saturday slammed the recent notification by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on the victims of religious persecution in Bangladesh and Pakistan as a vague one and said that the notification has left many ‘sensitive and vital’ issues unresolved, thereby compounding the foreigners’ problem in Assam.
Gogoi said that the Central Government has recently amended the Passport (Entry into India) Rules, 1950 and the Foreigners’ Order 1948 through a notification on September 7, 2015 and exempted persons belonging to minority community in Bangladesh or Pakistan, who have been compelled to seek shelter in India due to religious persecution on or before December 31, 2014. The notification, however, did not mention anything about their acquiring Indian citizenship.
“The amendments have sought to provide relaxation for certain class of foreigners and for their stay in India. It, however, did not mention anything about their acquiring Indian citizenship,” Gogoi said in a statement issued on Saturday.