Sir, there is one other criticism brought against the Draft placed before us that requires consideration. Article 5AA has been criticised by persons holding opposite points of view. There are one or two Members who feel that people who had migrated from India to Pakistan should not be allowed to return to India and claim Indian citizenship except under stringent conditions. There are others who hold a different view and who think that all those persons who left this country after the partition should without any question be allowed to return to their former homes. As, regards the people holding the first point of view, I should like to point out that advantage can be taken of article 5AA only by persons who have returned to India under a permit for resettlement or permanent return issued to them under any law. Such permit holders who return to India will be regarded as persons who had migrated to the territory of India after the 19th July 1948. This means that only the permit holders who return to India by the 25th July 1949 will be able to claim citizenship at the date of the commencement of this Constitution. The permit holders returning to India after the 25th July 1949 will not be able to show that they had been living in this country for six months since their return. Now, the permit holders, that is the people who have returned with a permit allowing them to resettle or reside permanently in India, are entitled to be regarded as citizens of India. They were in India and our Government, taking all things into account, taking into account all the fears expressed by Pandit Thakur Das Bhargava and others of his point of view, have allowed them to come back.
