Congress always misguided people over Citizenship Amendment Bill: Assam CM
Guwahati (Assam) [India], Feb 9 (ANI): Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday hit out at the Congress, accusing the party of misguiding the people of the state over the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016.
ANI
Feb 09, 2019 22:58 IST
Guwahati (Assam) [India], Feb 9 (ANI): Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday hit out at the Congress, accusing the party of misguiding the people of the state over the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016.
“The Congress has always misguided the people in the state, but every Assamese citizen is very smart and Congress cannot divert the minds of the people. The people are sensible and have always supported the BJP,” Sonowal told ANI.
The Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016 was passed in the Lok Sabha on January 8. It will facilitate citizenship of six identified minority communities, namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians and Parsis from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who came to India before December 31, 2014.
The proposed amendment in the Bill will make these persecuted migrants eligible to apply for citizenship. Under the proposed amendment, the minimum residency period for citizenship is being reduced from the existing 12 years under the present law to seven years.
However, citizenship will be given to them only after due scrutiny and recommendation of district authorities and the state government.
Several organisations have staged massive protests over the Bill, asserting that the legislation will create law and order problems in the North-East.
Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the rights of the people of Assam will be protected at any cost.
“Assam will have to be saved. Since partition, the minority communities have been betrayed. It is the responsibility of India to give them a shelter. I assure the people of the North-East that your state will not be harmed through Citizenship (Amendment) Bill,” he said at a public meeting.
The Assam Chief Minister alleged that Congress indulged in corruption in the last 60 years, while the BJP carried out various development works in almost five years.
“The steps which Modi ji has taken towards Assam and North-East have been historical. People will never forget this. I am sure the BJP will win the Lok Sabha elections again and Modi ji will become the Prime Minister again,” said Sonowal. (ANI)
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