GUWAHATI, Dec 24 - The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which aims to provide citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, Jains and Parsis coming to India from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh will violate the Constitution of India and provisions of the Assam Accord, alleged the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC).
Talking to The Assam Tribune, APCC vice president Pradyut Bordoloi said that the Bill would violate the Constitution of India. He said that being a secular country, India cannot provide citizenship to anyone on the basis of religion and the Congress would oppose the Bill strongly both inside and outside the Parliament. He revealed that the APCC already had discussions on the issue with the party high command. He also said that if necessary, the Congress is ready to move the Court against the Bill. �The Congress will knock every door against the Bill,� he said.
Bordoloi said that the Bill would also violate the Assam Accord. He pointed out that all sections of people of Assam made sacrifices during the six year long Assam movement, which culminated with the signing of the Assam Accord. As per the provisions of the Assam Accord, all foreigners coming illegally to the state after the midnight of March 24, 1971, should be detected and deported. All political parties and organizations of Assam including the BJP supported the Assam Accord. Now the BJP led Government is trying to violate the Assam Accord by bringing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, he added.
The APCC vice president alleged that the BJP was trying to polarize the Assamese society by bringing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. He said that it is merely a part of the ploy of the BJP to clearly divide the Assamese society into two blocks for its own political gain, which is not acceptable for a secular society. All sections of people of Assam should oppose any such move to divide the secular society in religious lines, he added.
Replying to a question as to why the Congress also made a promise to provide citizenship to the foreigners who came to India due to religious persecution in their own countries, Bordoloi claimed that the Congress only spoke about providing shelter and not citizenship. He said that before the 2011 Assembly elections, the then Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi , during a visit to the Barak valley, had advocated the need for providing shelter to those who came to Assam due to religious persecution in their own countries. He also said that providing shelter to someone on humanitarian ground and giving citizenship are two different issues.
