New Delhi: After backing the Congress demand for a Joint Parliamentary probe into the Rafale fighter jet deal, the Shiv Sena, BJP's long-standing ally, on Sunday said it would oppose the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, in the parliament.
The decision has been taken after the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) appealed to the Shiv Sena to oppose the legislation, party leader Sanjay Raut said in a statement.
"We are determined to oppose the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 in Parliament," Raut said.
With the Lok Sabha polls around the corner, the Shiv Sena has adopted a more aggressive posture against the BJP, with whom it has shared an uneasy relationship over the past four years.
The people of Assam, irrespective of their caste, religion and creed, oppose the proposed legislation, he said.
The Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 to provide citizenship to illegal migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who are of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian origin.
The Assamese and other indigenous groups in Assam fear that the passage of the Bill would make the state a dumping ground for fresh waves of migrants, specifically “Hindu Bangladeshis”. They also feel that the Bill would make redundant the exercise of NRC, which lists those who have come to Assam before March 24, 1971 as mandated by the Assam Accord.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee examining the bill is slated to table it in Parliament on January 7.
On Saturday, BJP president Amit Shah said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is expected to bag 300 seats in the coming Lok Sabha elections with a contribution of nearly 50 seats from the northeastern region and West Bengal.
Comments
0 comment