The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 has now got the president's nod and has now become an Act. President Ram Nath Kovind late on Thursday gave his assent to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019. With the development, the Act comes into effect with its publication in the official gazette on Thursday, an official notification stated.

According to the Act, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist,Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come 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 Citizenship(Amendment) Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha on Wednesday and by Lok Sabha on Monday.The Act says the refugees of the six communities will be given Indian citizenship after residing in India for five years, instead of earlier requirement of 11 years.

The Act also proposes to give immunity to such refugees facing legal cases after being found as illegal migrants.

According to the legislation, it will not be applicable tothe tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura as included in theSixth Schedule of the Constitution and in the areas covered under the InnerLine Permit, notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.

The ILP regime is applicable in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagalandand Mizoram.However, a large section of people and organisations in theNortheast, especially in Assam and Tripura, have opposed the Act, saying itwill nullify the provisions of the Assam Accord of 1985, which fixed March 24,1971, as the cut-off date for deportation of all illegal immigrantsirrespective of religion.

Protests against the legislation have intensified sinceMonday in the Northeast.

Two persons were killed on Thursday in police firing inAssam with thousands descending on streets defying curfew even as PrimeMinister Narendra Modi vowed his government was committed to safeguarding theirrights.

Several towns and cities were placed under indefinitecurfew, including Guwahati, the epicenter of protests, Dibrugarh, Tezpur andDhekiajuli. Night curfew was imposed in Jorhat, Golaghat, Tinsukia andCharaideo districts, officials said.

The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) moved the SupremeCourt challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, saying it violates thefundamental Right to Equality of the Constitution and intends to grantcitizenship to a section of illegal immigrants by making an exclusion on thebasis of religion.