Joint committee on citizenship bill gets more time to submit report

New Delhi : A joint committee of both Houses of Parliament, examining the Citizenship Amendment Bill, was on Tuesday granted more time to submit its report by the Lok Sabha.

The committee has been given time till the first day of the last week of the Winter Session to submit its report.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was introduced in the Lok Sabha in July 2016 to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955.

It seeks to make illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible for citizenship and relax requirements of naturalisation for them.

The joint committee is headed by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Rajendra Agrawal.

The Lok Sabha adopted the resolution which said: "This House does extend time for presentation of the report of the Joint Committee on The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 up to the first day of the last week of the Winter Session, 2018."

The winter session normally begins in the third week of November.