Citizenship Bill gets President's nod, becomes law

New Delhi, Dec 13: President Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) late on Thursday night, turning it into an act.

The historic Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha, paving the way for it to become a law. For the Bill to be passed, it needed 112 votes. There were 223 members who were present in the House, which meant that the magic number was 112. At the end, the Bill was passed with 125 MPs voting in its favour.

The contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014, and facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.

The President's assent comes even as the northeast is on boil against the contentious bill. Violent mobs torched buildings and clashed with police, leading to the death of two people in police firing. Several others have also been wounded.