The Bill, which will be taken up in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, has put the Congress in the midst of a dilemma, if sources are to be believed.
While the BJP has landed itself a huge blow in Assam and its neighbouring areas over the Citizenship Amendment Bill, what it has also managed to do unwittingly is put the Congress in a fix.
The Bill, which will be taken up in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, has put the Congress in the midst of a dilemma, if sources are to be believed. If it opposes the Bill for the sake of its vote bank in Assam, it risks losing voters in other states like Punjab where there are Hindus and Sikhs who have escaped persecution in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Sources said that while Congress leaders from Assam have vehemently opposed the Bill, the Central leadership is a bit reluctant to oppose it in entirety. Leader of Opposition in the Lok sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge and MPs from states like Maharashtra and Rajasthan have expressed their reluctance over the contentious issue.
The party, in all likelihood, could abstain from voting, and might stage a walkout. Sources also said that party leaders have not yet called for a meeting to discuss its strategy in the Lower House.
"The Bill impacts the entire country, and if the party stands up for the sake of Assam, it will be seen as a party that is coming in the way of Hindus coming back home," confided a party person in the know.
However, Congress leaders, while discussing the issue of citizenship, have noted that nowhere between Article 5 to 11, does the Constitution define citizenship as one factored on religion. "If the person is to be given refuge in the country on the basis of their Indian origin, then we cannot deny Muslims as well," said a source explaining the party's position. "If they would have kept religion out of it, we would have accepted it without any issues."
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