The BJP will focus on passing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill once it returns to power after the Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today, indicating that the party has no plans to back off on an issue that spurred intense protests in the Northeast for months.
Addressing an election rally in Assam's Silchar, PM Modi said that the legislation - aimed at making it easier for non-Muslim immigrants from neighbouring countries to obtain Indian citizenship - will be implemented after "proper consultations with all sections of society". He, however, assured the people of Assam that their language, culture and identity will be protected when the legislation is taken up for consideration again. 
Although the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on January 8, it could not be introduced in the upper house. Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who believes that the legislation is unabashedly communal, has vowed to prevent it from getting through the Rajya Sabha.