Sonowal meets Rajnath Singh, Citizenship Bill prime issue of discussion

November 17: In the backdrop of an impasse on the issue of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, an important development took place. State Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on Saturday. State Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also accompanied the Chief Minister in that meeting. It has been learnt that the said meeting was also attended by BJP National President Amit Shah and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

As per a source, apart from discussing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 which in all probability will be tabled in the Parliament during its winter session, other issues like the ongoing updation exercise of NRC, law and order scenario, reports of youth joining rebel outfits, ensuing panchayat election were also discussed in the meeting. However, the outcome of the discussion has not yet been divulged.

Meanwhile, Sarbananda Sonowal before leaving for New Delhi urged upon the people, whose names have not been included in the draft NRC, to file claims and objections to enlist their names in the NRC. The Supreme Court extended the deadline to December 15 for filing claims and objections for the inclusion of names in the final draft of NRC.

The Ministry of Home Affairs is working on chalking out a strategy to issue ‘biometric work permit’ to all those who, out of 40 lakh, will be declared ‘illegal foreigners’ in the ongoing process of updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam. The proposal, if accepted and implemented, will enable those who are marked as “illegal foreigners” to continue to live and work in India although they will be deprived of their right to vote.

In another major development, it has been learnt that, Rajendra Agarwal, Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) has sought the opinion of each member of the committee on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 before it is placed in the Winter Session of the Parliament which is to start from 11 December. The Bill was originally intended 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.

However, on the face of protest, the Bill has received in the Brahmaputra Valley from AASU, AGP and 70 odd indigenous organizations, the JPC is learnt to have decided to keep Bangladesh out of the purview of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016. Before submitting the bill, the JPC will be meeting for the final time on 20 November in New Delhi to incorporate the views of the committee members.

BJP which was hammering the proposal since 2014 to grant citizenship to all Hindus who have come over to India from Bangladesh will be in a false position if Bangladesh is excluded from the purview of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016. Experts on this issue are of the view that Bangladesh excluded from the Bill will be similar to a fierce tiger without any teeth.