Thursday, December 19, 2019

I love my India!

I'm gonna reproduce the gazette of India dated 12 Dec '19. It encompasses the CITIZENSHIP (AMENDMENT) ACT!

An Act further to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955.

1. (1) This Act may be called the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
    (2) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the
          Official Gazette, appoint.

2. In the Citizenship Act, 1955 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act, in Section 2, in the sub
    section (1), in clause (b), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:-
      "Provided that any person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian
        community from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan who entered into India on or before
        the 31st day of December 2014 and who has been exempted by the Central Government by or 
        under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section (3) of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920
        or from the application of the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 or any rule or order made 
        there under, shall not be treated as illegal migrant for the purposes of this Act".

3. After section 6A of the principal Act, the following section shall be inserted, namely:-
        "6B. (1) The Central Government or an authority specified by it in this behalf may, subject to
          such conditions, restrictions and manner as may be prescribed, on an application made in this
          behalf, grant a certificate of registration or certificate of  naturalisation to a person referred to
          in the proviso to clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 2.

          (2) Subject to fulfillment of the conditions specified in section 5 or the qualifications for
          naturalisation under the provisions of the Third Schedule, a person granted the certificate of
          registration or certificate of naturalisation under sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be a 
          citizen of India from the date of his entry into India.

          (3) On and from the date of commencement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, any
           proceeding pending against a person under this section in respect of illegal migration or
           citizenship shall stand abated on conferment of citizenship to him :

                Provided that such person shall not be disqualified for making application for citizenship
           under this section on the ground that the proceeding is pending against him and the Central
           Government or authority specified by it in this behalf shall not reject his application on that 
           ground if he is otherwise qualified for grant of citizenship under this section :

                Provided further that the person who makes the application for citizenship under this 
           section shall not be deprived of his rights and privileges to which he was entitled on the date 
           of receipt of his application on the ground of making such application.

          (4) Nothing in this section shall apply to tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram or
          Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution and the area covered under "The
          Inner Line" notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulations, 1873

          4. In section 7D of the principal Act :-

              (i) after clause (d) the following clause shall be inserted, namely :-
                   (da) the Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder has violated any of the provisions of this 
              this Act or provisions of any other law for time being in force as may be specified by the
              Central Government in the notification published in the Official Gazette, or" ;

             (ii) after clause (f), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely :-
                    "Provided that no order under this section shall be passed unless the Overseas
             Citizen of India Cardholder has been  given a reasonable opportunity of being heard".
  
          5. In section 18 of the principal Act in sub-section (2) after clause (ee), the following clause 
          shall be inserted, namely :-
              (eei) the conditions, restrictions and manner for granting certificate of registration or
          certificate of naturalisation under sub-section (1) of section 6B;"

          6. In the Third Schedule to the principal Act, in clause (d), the following proviso shall be
          inserted, namely:-

                      'Provided that for the person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or
          Christian community in Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, the aggregate period of 
          residence or service of Government of India as required under this clause shall be read as
          "not less than five years" in place of "not less than eleven years".


                                                                                                                             Sd/-
                                                                                                                        (Dr G Narayana Rao)
                                                                                                                        Secretary to the GoI 

Now, to all the people and the luminaries (?) who have been rioting on the streets of certain parts of the country - supported by many of the opposition parties - May I ask the following questions:-

   (a) What's anti-Constitutional in this Act?
   (b) Where does it shed the secular spirit of the nation?
   (c) It can be safely surmised that those who continue to misbehave on the streets:-

           (i) haven't read the Act.
          (ii) having read it, haven't understood its meaning.
         (iii) are being driven by divisive forces who are keen to see this nation in bad light.

You must understand that you have a Prime Minister who has won by a handsome mandate from the people of India just about six months back. You fought the battle of the ballot by forming alliances and got decimated in the bargain. Is this your way to get back at him?

What about the poor policemen who have been attacked by the so-called-students - to me, from the screen shots shown on news channels, they're plain goons.

Sad! 

I love my India. It breaks my heart to see hooligans and anti-nationals trying to script their form of protest in the most horrible manner. 

May I request the opposition to be more responsible. This cannot go on and on, especially for no rhyme or reason!

And the 'NRC Bill' is not even drafted!


Tailpiece.

Another usual day. Skipped the morning walk as I'd woken up late. Lekha had gone to the Guruvayur temple as part of her weekly tryst. The Quarterdeck was progressively shut down by evening!




  

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