CAB set to be tabled in Parliament next week; non-Muslim refugees from Pak, B'desh, Afghanistan to get citizenship

Members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who come from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan facing persecution there, will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship when the proposed amendments to the six-decade-old Citizenship Act come into effect.

According to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which was distributed among MPs, the new law, however, will not be applicable in the Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime areas and those tribal regions which are governed under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

The contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB), which generated widespread protests in the Northeastern states, is expected to be tabled in Lok Sabha on Monday for consideration and passage.

"In Citizenship Act, in Section 2 in sub-section (i), in clause (b)