JPC rejects changes proposed by Oppn in citizenship Bill

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 31

The Joint Parliamentary Committee, which is looking into the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill, has set a target to submit its report on January 7. Committee chairman Rajendra Agarwal said this while claiming that they are “running out of time”, as the Winter Session of Parliament comes to an end on January 8.

As the committee met today to discuss the proposed Bill clause by clause and approve them, Agarwal, who is a BJP Lok Sabha Member from Meerut (U), said, the panel was "going to meet again on January 3 to adopt the report”. 

During the meeting today only two of the several amendments moved each by BJD's Bhartuhari Mahtab and BJP's Meenakshi Lekhi were adopted unanimously through voice vote and the rest were voted out, sources privy to the proceedings said. 

Sources said other amendments proposed by members were negated by voice vote, which mostly related to deleting names of countries, particularly of Bangladesh and also religions, sources added.

In the last meeting of the JPC, held on November 27, Opposition members moved clause-by-clause amendments and one Congress MP sought removal of Bangladesh from the purview of the proposed legislation.

The Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, to grant Indian nationality to people belonging to minority communities — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians — in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan after six years of residence in India instead of 12, even if they don't possess any proper document.