GUWAHATI: Not ruling out the potential of suggesting a "re-think" on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the invoice is protecting its choices open after the polarized reactions it has encountered.
The 30-member JPC is headed by way of BJP MP Rajendra Agarwal and has four MPs from Assam - Bhubaneswar Kalita and Sushmita Dev from Congress, and Ramen Deka and Kamakhya Prasad Tassa from BJP.
"This is a sticky issue. Whatever recommendation the JPC makes, the fate of the bill will depend on the Centre's determination. It appears that a re-think on the amendment bill is likely to happen," a JPC member instructed TOI on Tuesday.
"The government may push the bill in Parliament, but it cannot withstand the scrutiny by judiciary. The application of Article 14 of the Constitution (equality before law) may prove to be the Achilles heel for the bill. The bill clearly violates this Article," the member added.
Assam divided over Citizenship Bill, 2016
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which seeks make minorities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh citizens of India, has break up the Assamese-majority Brahmaputra Valley and Bengali Hindu-dominated Barak Valley. This would possibly force a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the invoice right now traveling the state to suggest to the Centre a rethink on the arguable invoice.
" T his is a sticky issue. It appears that a rethink is likely," a JPC member instructed TOI on Tuesday. "The government may push the bill in Parliament, but the proposed amendment may not withstand scrutiny by the judiciary as it may be violative of the right to equality before law (for leaving out Muslims from the list of proposed beneficiaries)," the JPC member mentioned .
On the primary day of its visit on Monday, the JPC noticed an overwhelming majority of organisations and folks from the Brahmaputra Valley coming out against the invoice. Their competition was once that Assam would be swamped by way of migrants, particularly from Bangladesh, if the invoice was once handed. AGP, an ally of BJP, threatened to pull out of the coalition if the invoice was once handed.
In sharp distinction, the JPC discovered on Tuesday that public make stronger was once in favour of the invoice in Barak Valley. While the state Congress has opposed the invoice, its Karimganj and Hailakandi district units mentioned they would make stronger the invoice if it was once amended to include other people of all religions and wasn't limited to only Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Christians and Parsis.
Meanwhile, Meghalaya's ruling alliance, of which BJP is a constituent, has decided to not make stronger the invoice.
The 30-member JPC is headed by way of BJP MP Rajendra Agarwal and has four MPs from Assam - Bhubaneswar Kalita and Sushmita Dev from Congress, and Ramen Deka and Kamakhya Prasad Tassa from BJP.
"This is a sticky issue. Whatever recommendation the JPC makes, the fate of the bill will depend on the Centre's determination. It appears that a re-think on the amendment bill is likely to happen," a JPC member instructed TOI on Tuesday.
"The government may push the bill in Parliament, but it cannot withstand the scrutiny by judiciary. The application of Article 14 of the Constitution (equality before law) may prove to be the Achilles heel for the bill. The bill clearly violates this Article," the member added.
Assam divided over Citizenship Bill, 2016
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which seeks make minorities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh citizens of India, has break up the Assamese-majority Brahmaputra Valley and Bengali Hindu-dominated Barak Valley. This would possibly force a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the invoice right now traveling the state to suggest to the Centre a rethink on the arguable invoice.
" T his is a sticky issue. It appears that a rethink is likely," a JPC member instructed TOI on Tuesday. "The government may push the bill in Parliament, but the proposed amendment may not withstand scrutiny by the judiciary as it may be violative of the right to equality before law (for leaving out Muslims from the list of proposed beneficiaries)," the JPC member mentioned .
On the primary day of its visit on Monday, the JPC noticed an overwhelming majority of organisations and folks from the Brahmaputra Valley coming out against the invoice. Their competition was once that Assam would be swamped by way of migrants, particularly from Bangladesh, if the invoice was once handed. AGP, an ally of BJP, threatened to pull out of the coalition if the invoice was once handed.
In sharp distinction, the JPC discovered on Tuesday that public make stronger was once in favour of the invoice in Barak Valley. While the state Congress has opposed the invoice, its Karimganj and Hailakandi district units mentioned they would make stronger the invoice if it was once amended to include other people of all religions and wasn't limited to only Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Christians and Parsis.
Meanwhile, Meghalaya's ruling alliance, of which BJP is a constituent, has decided to not make stronger the invoice.
JPC may ask Centre to rethink citizenship bill
![JPC may ask Centre to rethink citizenship bill]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
May 09, 2018
Rating:
