Won’t hurt Assam’s interest: Minister

GUWAHATI: With the visit of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, evoking sharp protests in Assam, the BJP-led government said it won’t go against the state’s interests. “The government is doing everything to take the people of the state into confidence,” Assam industry minister Chandra Mohan Patwary said with reference to the bill, which proposes that illegal migrants of certain minority communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan can become eligible for Indian citizenship. The minister asked the people of the state to trust Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on the matter, saying, “JPC on Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is interacting with the people and org nisations. We had requested the JPC to visit Assam and interact with the people.”

The JPC wrapped up its visit to Assam and Meghalaya onFriday