Thursday, July 28 2005 19:48 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The Government today (July 28, 2005) said Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) opting for dual citizenship would have no right to franchise or seek elections to Parliament or State assemblies.

Piloting the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2005 in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Home S P Jaiswal said they also have no right to seek election to the post of the President, the Vice-President or the Prime Minister.

He said the Government proposed to enforce the legislation as soon as it was passed by Parliament.

Participating in a discussion on the bill, the Opposition said caution had to be taken to ensure that Indians who had settled abroad and who were engaged in anti-India activities did not take advantage of the legislation to send terrorists into the country.

Ajay Maroo (BJP) said there were large numbers of Indians, especially from Kashmir and Punjab, settled in the UK and Canada who were heading separatist groups.

Government should take care that such elements were not allowed to misuse provisions of the legislation, he said.

Anand Sharma (Cong) chided the BJP for not showing unanimity on the bill and said the legislation proposed by the erstwhile NDA (National Democratic Alliance) Government was discriminatory with regard to countries whose nationals of Indian origin could opt for dual citizenship.

C Perumal (AIADMK) cautioned that undesirable elements should not be given dual citizenship.