Report by JPC on Citizenship Bill tabled in Lok Sabha

NEW DELHI: A report by a 30-member Joint Parliamentary Committee headed by BJP MP Rajendra Agrawal on the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016, which seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan was tabled in Lok Sabha on Monday.

While endorsing the government’s move to legalise minority immigrants who have entered Assam till December 31, 2014, the JPC noted that provisions in the new bill to exempt persons belonging to certain minority communities coming from the three countries has general application beyond the Assam Accord and is intended to apply to the whole of India.

Referring to the concerns in many quarters over the amendment to Section 6A in the proposed bill to give citizenship to minority groups from neighbouring countries, the JPC report said the department of legal affairs has opined that the proposal to legalise the minority migrants who entered Assam till December, 2014 without valid travel documents appears to be contrary to the Assam Accord.

However, it added, the legislative department clarified that Section 6A of the original Citizenship Act only deals with foreigners who entered India from Bangladesh into Assam between January 1, 1966 and March 24, 1971. It does not provide for any form of detection, deletion or expulsion of foreigners beyond that date.

The JPC noted that the legislative department has emphasised that there appears to be no conflict in the application of the proposed proviso regarding exemption of minority communities coming from Bangladesh to Assam between January 1, 1966, and March 24, 1971 as per the Assam Accord.

“The department has summarized that since the proposed amendment bill refers by implication only to those persons belonging to six religious minority communities including those from Bangladesh who have entered India on or before December 31, 2014, if any case has not already been decided by the Tribunal constituted under the Foreigners (tribunals) order, 1964, under Section 6A, then the impact of amendment bill would be to not treat such persons as illegal migrants on the date of commencement of proposed provision,” it added.

Referring to the petition pending in the Supreme Court, the JPC found that Section 6A of the original act is valid until the larger bench of the apex court delivers its final verdict on the matter.

“While endorsing the move of the government, the committee was, however, of the view that since the matter was still sub judice, the government had to tread with caution and take recourse to all legal precautions lest it causes embarrassment at a later date. The committee are also of the firm opinion that the primary objective of the Assam Accord viz to protect the cultural, social and linguistic identity of the Assamese people has to be fulfilled and the onus lies with the government to ensure that the proposed legislation does not impede the process of implementation of the Assam Accord,” it said.

The report said the Committee felt that, in view of the anxieties and concerns expressed by the civil society groups in Assam and other north-eastern states, the state and central governments should formulate rules and regulations under Clause 6 A to ensure that the identities of indigenous peoples are not threatened in any way by “unintended consequences” of the Citizenship Bill.

It appreciated government on including minorities from three countries in the new bill. “regards the cut off date of March 25, 1971, as spelt out in the Assam Accord, and December 31, 2014, as proposed in the bill, the committee feels that the intent of government is to protect the interest of those migrants of Indian origin who are subjected to unfair treatment for no fault of theirs”, it said.

“Display of such supportive and humanitarian approach on the part of the government towards the minorities who fled the three countries, including Bangladesh, due to religious persecution is quite appreciable,” the JPC added.

At least eight MPs including Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD), Javed Ali Khan (SP), Saugata Roy and Derek O'Brien (TMC), Mohammad Salim (CPI-M), and Bhubaneswar Kalita, Pradip Bhattacharya, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Sushmita Dev (Congress) gave dissent notes on certain grounds.

Mahtab said in his note that a large number of delegates apprised the committee of the serious discontent among the people against the bill. “In an already densely populated state, this will open floodgates, thereby accentuating the discontent among the people of Assam,” he stated.

The TMC and Congress members said they have opposed the bill as it brings out the ethnic divisions in Assam.

The JPC report was adopted by the House through a majority vote.

On the influx of illegal migrants in the country, the JPC stated that “the national security precedes all other considerations including the humanitarian aspect and as such rampant infiltration into the country from foreign lands on one plea or other has to be stopped”.

It also endorsed government’s argument that the bill does not violate the spirit of Article 14 and Article 25 of the Constitution and will stand up to judicial scrutiny.