A BJP legislator from Borkhola
constituency in Assam along with several members of his family have been served notices by the Foreigners' Tribunal, suspecting them of being "doubtful citizens".
The Foreigners' Tribunal (FT) No 1 today sent notices to the MLA from Barak Valley, Kishore Nath, his wife Nilima Nath, four brothers -- Matilal Nath, Pradip Nath, Jagdish Nath, Manik Nath -- and sister-in-law Rakhi Nath, the BJP legislator said.
As per the notices, Kishore Nath along with his family members, who are residents of Ward 28, have been asked to appear before an FT judge to prove that they are citizens of India.
Stating that he and his family were indigenous citizens of India, Nath said he will move court with the requisite documents to prove his citizenship.
The BJP legislator blamed the previous Congress government in the state for having instructed the tribunal to randomly pick out names for serving such notices.
Nath has apprised the Speaker of the Assam Assembly about the FT notice served to him and his family, sources said.
A series of protests have rocked Assam over the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016, with locals fearing it would breach the clauses of the Assam Accord which states that all the illegal foreigners who came to the state after 1971 from Bangladesh, irrespective of their religion, have to be deported.
The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make illegal migrants belonging to six communities -- Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians -- eligible for Indian citizenship after six years of residence in the country.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
