'New' Citizenship (Amendment) Bill Being Drafted, Confirms Himanta Biswa Sarma

Guwahati, September 24, 2019:

Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday announced that a new form of the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill will be proposed in the Parliament.

Addressing the media, Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “A new form of Citizenship Bill will be proposed that will have the cut off date of December 30, 2014. The people who have migrated prior to this date, will be eligible for citizenship.”

He added that the newly drafted bill will not override Article 371 (A), Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, Tribal, and the Inner Line Permit (ILP), as committed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) Conclave. The new draft of the Bill will be largely accepted, he affirmed.

Also Read:Mizoram Govt Sends Excluded People from NRC Back to Assam

Speaking along the lines of ILP, Sarma added, “In Assam, we don’t want the ILP, but in other Northeastern states, it will depend on the merits and demerits. But that won’t be linked to CAB. However, the existing ILP won’t be disturbed.”

He also mentioned that the consultation of the drafting of the new bill is being held with all the stakeholders.

Regarding the appeal for the excluded in the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the NEDA convenor said that the Register General of India (RGI) has to give the notification. He added that the directions of the Supreme Court will be taken into account for this.

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