New Delhi: The government will push the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the budget session of Parliament beginning on Thursday that was stuck in the Rajya Sabha in the winter session because of the stiff opposition of the Congress and other parties.
The Bill will give the BJP dividends in West Bengal in the Lok Sabha elections to offset the loss it may suffer in Uttar Pradesh, a party leader said, pointing out that “citizenship bill is our commitment to the people and we will have it passed.” The party wants to use the Bill as part of its major campaign in West Bengal where it plans 130 public rallies in the next two months, including three by Prime Minister Modi. His two rallies are already fixed on February 2 and 8.
The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha in the winter session after the Congress staged a walkout to protest at excluding the Muslims from the category of the persecuted minorities by including only the Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis to be given the Indian citizenship on providing evidence of persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and who have completed six years of residence in India.
The government will ensure that there is no illegal migration from Bangladesh, the party said in its campaign in Guwahati and the state capitals of Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Meghalaya and Manipur. The party sources said the party may lose some seats in the Northeast because of the ongoing campaign against the Bill but it will gain much in West Bengal where it is banking on a large number of the Hindu migrants not having the voting right today that they will get as soon as their citizenship is recognised.
