Why the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is bang on

But we need safeguards to address Assam and north-east identity concerns

The National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA’s) Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, passed by the Lok Sabha earlier this week, is unlikely to pass muster in the Rajya Sabha, given the weight of opposition in the upper house. It is just as well, for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has many fires to put out in the north-east, where the Bill is seen as an attempt to legitimise the residency of illegal immigrants in these states, posing threats to local identities.

The Bill seeks to fast-track citizenship for persecuted minority groups in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and these minority groups have been specifically identified