Bill amending Citizenship Act sent to parliamentary panel

New Delhi, Sep 16 (IANS) A Bill amending the Citizenship Act has been sent to a joint parliamentary committee, an official statement said here on Friday.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, introduced in the Lok Sabha by Home Minister Rajnath Singh in July, was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee of both the Houses, under the chairmanship of BJP MP Satyapal Singh.

The statement also invited views and suggestions from the public on the bill which has been uploaded on the Lok Sabha website for review. It asked people to indicate if they would want to appear before the committee.

The Citizenship Act, 1955, provides various ways in which citizenship may be acquired.

The amendment would allow citizenship to undocumented Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.