Citizenship Amendment Bill will now be tabled in Rajya Sabha.
After Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 was passed in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his delight over the passage of the bill saying it "is in line with India’s centuries-old ethos of assimilation and belief in humanitarian values." The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday with 311 MPs voting in favour and 80 against it.
PM Modi tweeted, "Delighted that the Lok Sabha has passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 after a rich and extensive debate. I thank the various MPs and parties that supported the Bill. This Bill is in line with India’s centuries-old ethos of assimilation and belief in humanitarian values."
Modi also thanked Home Minister Amit Shah for explaining 'lucidly' the aspects of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019. He tweeted, "I would like to especially applaud Home Minister @AmitShah Ji for lucidly explaining all aspects of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019. He also gave elaborate answers to the various points raised by respective MPs during the discussion in the Lok Sabha."
The Controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 which seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan by proposing to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 was tabled by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the Lower House of the Parliament and taken up for discussion and passage. It was discussed amid huge uproar from Opposition parties and protests in northeast states.
Congress, Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and Trinamool Congress were at the forefront of the protest against the bill stating that it went against the idea of secularism enshrined in the constitution. They stated that the bill was denying citizenship to a certain community on the basis of its religion.
It will now be tabled in Rajya Sabha to get its nod.
During the discussion, Home Minister Amit Shah gave a detailed explanation and reasserted that it is a part of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance manifesto.
The House witnessed a fierce debate with AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi even tearing a copy of the Bill, calling it unconstitutional. "Ye aur ek partition hone ja raha hai (One more partition is about to happen). This Bill is against the Constitution of India and disrespect to our freedom fighters. I tear the Bill, it is trying to divide our country," he said.
The Bill also resulted in protests in Northeast India with the people in Assam saying that the Bill will nullify the provisions of the Assam Accord of 1985, which fixed March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date for deportation of all illegal immigrants irrespective of religion. Protests were held in all major cities of Assam with shops being closed in Guwahati following shutdown call by various organisations opposing the Bill.
Responding to the questions, Amit Shah said that "Under no dimension, this bill is unconstitutional, or is against Article 14."
Defending the government, Shah also added that there will be no discrimination on the basis of religion. "The Hindu population was 84% and in 2011, it was 79%. In 1991, the Muslim population was 9.8% & today it's 14.23%. We have done no discrimination on the basis of religion and in the future as well, there will be no discrimination based on religion," he said.
The Bill aims to provide for Indian citizenship to the Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after six years of residence in India instead of the current mandatory stay of 11 years even if they do not possess any document.
According to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB), 2019, members of these communities, who have come from the three neighboring nations before December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution there will be granted Indian citizenship after a mandatory period of stay.
The Union Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had cleared the Bill during a crucial meeting on Wednesday.
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