Guwahati, Oct. 14: Assam BJP MP Ramen Deka today said the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) constituted to hear grievances against and suggestions on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, would hold discussions with all stakeholders and also visit the state soon.

Deka, a member of the JPC, told The Telegraph that a few indigenous organisations were creating an "unnecessary controversy" for not being invited by the committee yesterday to hear their grievances against the bill.

"The JPC yesterday held a hearing with several organisations who have been working for refugees. The JPC has so far received 9,000 petitions and the hearings are likely to continue over the next couple of months. All indigenous organisations will be invited by the JPC for hearing in a phased manner. It will also visit the state for this purpose," Deka said.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, introduced in Parliament by the Narendra Modi government, primarily seeks to grant Indian citizenship to persons belonging to minority communities, namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after a stay of six years.

Indigenous organisations are up in arms against the bill as it would go against the Assam Accord which stipulates that any migrant from Bangladesh who enters the state after March 24, 1971 must be detected and deported. These organisations had sought appointments with the JPC to discuss the "dangerous" consequences for Assam if the bill is passed. Deka's statement and assurance have also failed to convince them.

The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) questioned the JPC's rationale in inviting four "pro-migrant" organisations for yesterday's hearing. "At a time when there is a huge protest against the bill by indigenous organisations, the JPC has failed to realise the importance of inviting them first for hearing," KMSS secretary general Bhasco De Saikia said. He said the KMSS had not even been invited for the JPC's next hearing on October 25.

The All Assam Students' Union (AASU), while refusing to comment on yesterday's hearing by the JPC, asked Assam MPs to impress upon the Centre to exempt the state from taking the burden of Hindu migrants even if the bill is passed by Parliament. The AASU warned the Centre against violating the Assam Accord.

Asked about the contradiction between the citizenship bill and the Assam Accord, Deka said the issue would be dealt with by the Centre. "The JPC is not mandated to deal with the issue," he said.

Sources said the Bengali Hindu groups, which attended the JPC's hearing in New Delhi yesterday, supported the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016. They, however, called for resolution of the legal conflict between the bill and the Assam Accord first.

On October 3, constitutional experts T.K. Vishwanathan and Subhash C. Kashyap had told the JPC that the proposed bill which violates the Assam Accord was a "badly drafted" piece of legislation. According to experts, if the bill is passed by Parliament, it would automatically lead to amendment of the Assam Accord.