No citizenship without state’s consent: Home Ministry

January 22: The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 has led to a huge uproar in various parts of Assam and other North Eastern states. On the face of it, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday said that under the Bill, nobody would be granted Indian citizenship without the consent of the respective state government.

MHA spokesperson Ashok Prasad said “Each and every individual application for Indian citizenship will have to be inquired into by the District Magistrate, who will analyse each case and give recommendations to the state government. The state government also has to do its inquiry through its agencies.”

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 was passed by the Lok Sabha and is now pending before the Rajya Sabha. The Bill intends to grant citizenship to the religious minorities (Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians) who have migrated from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan till 2014 due to religious persecution after their stay in India for seven years.

Thus, it becomes almost evident that even if the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 ibecomes an Act, then also  without the state government’s recommendations, no one will be given Indian citizenship.