Citizenship bill row: Amit Shah cancels Shillong trip

New Delhi, Dec 13: Home Minister Amit Shah has cancelled his visit to two Northeastern states Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh amidst widespread protests in Assam and Meghalaya against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

The Home Minister's visit to the Northeast has been cancelled, a home ministry official said, without citing any reason.

This comes days after The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 sailed through the Parliament after Rajya Sabha passed it on Wednesday. As many as 125 members of the Upper House voted in favour while 105 MPs voted against the Bill, which was passed by Lok Sabha earlier this week.

The Bill seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Zoroastrian communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.