NEW DELHI, Nov 17 - In a significant development, the term of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 has been extended till the end of the Budget Session scheduled for next year.
While Committee chairman Satyapal Singh moved the motion in the Rajya Sabha, Ramen Deka moved it in the Lok Sabha and was duly approved by the MPs.
�The House does extend time for presentation of the report of the JPC on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 up to the first day of the last week of the Budget Session (2017) of Parliament,� the resolution said.
As reported, the controversial Bill was listed for passage during the Winter Session of Parliament. The JPC was supposed to place its report in Parliament before its formal clearance by the Union Cabinet for passage in the Lok Sabha.
According to a member of the Committee, the team is now likely to visit Assam after the conclusion of the Winter Session to assess the ground situation and meet the various stakeholders. The Committee is also in the midst of taking submissions from public and various organisations. So far, parties and organisations like the AGP, Congress, AASU, Assam Andolan Sangrami Mancha and Citizenship Right Preservation Committee (CRPC), among others, have made their submissions. However, other organisations like Asam Sahitya Sabha, AJYCP, NESO are yet to make their sumbissions.
Meanwhile, the Prabrajan Virodhi Mancha (PVM) today claimed that at the current rate, the indigenous people in Assam will become a minority well before 2040 itself. It had earlier predicted that the indigenous people of the State would be reduced to a minority by the year 2040.
