Nine MPs flagged Assam concerns in dissent notes to JPC on Citizenship Bill

Nine MPs from five parties who sat on the Citizenship Amendment Bill’s Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), a panel of 30 members, had warned in dissent notes of the Bill’s harmful consequences for Assam.

Dissent notes

Bhartruhari Mahtab, a senior BJD leader whose party backed the Bill in Parliament, wrote in a note attached to the committee’s report that the Bill conflicted with the principal Act and with the spirit of the Assam Accord. He warned: “In an already densely populated state, this will open floodgates.”

Law ministry divided

The department of legal affairs in the Union law ministry shared the concern, saying the Bill appeared to run contrary to the Assam Accord. The ministry’s legislative department, however, took a different view.

It said section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 covered only foreigners who came to Assam from Bangladesh in the period from January 1, 1966 to March 24, 1971. The proposed exemption for certain minority communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, it said, applied to the whole country and went beyond the accord. In its view, there was no conflict between the proviso and the Assam Accord in the case of minority communities who arrived from Bangladesh in that period.

What happened next

Parliament passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in December 2019.

See also: Lok Sabha members

Originally published on 13 December 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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