Imphal, February 3: Filmmaker Aribam Syam Sharma on Sunday returned his Padma Shri award in protest against Citizenship Amendment Bill. Sharma had received the award in the year 2006. The 83-year old filmmaker and music composer has won several national film awards. Sharma was conferred with the Jewel of Manipuri Cinema Award on 14 May 2015 by the Film Forum of Manipur and the Manipur State Film Development Society. Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 Will Make It Easier to Provide Indian Citizenship: President Ram Nath Kovind. 

Reports inform that Sharma's 1980 film Olangthagee Wangmadasu was the first ever and the only Manipuri film to run for more 25 weeks. The film ran for 28 weeks at the box office. Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016: 11 North-East Parties Oppose Bill. 

The Citizenship Amendment Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on January 8. The Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act 1955 to grant Indian citizenship to people from minority communities Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan after six years of residence in India instead of 12 even if they do not possess any proper documentation. This was the BJP's election promise in 2014.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 03, 2019 03:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).