Press "Enter" to skip to content

Union Home Minister Amit Shah to table Citizenship Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha tomorrow

The much-debated Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) is set to be introduced in the Parliament on Monday. Reports indicated that the Bill is named in the Lok Sabha’s ‘List of Business’ for tomorrow and that it will be introduced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who had earlier batted for the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Rajya Sabha.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has asserted that the Bill will allow refugees from minorities communities like the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain, Christian, and Parsi coming from Pakistan, Bangladesh or Afghanistan to be eligible for Indian citizenship. The move aims at providing protection to minority refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, relaxing the requirement of stay from 11 to 6 years. 

Shah had had several discussions and meetings in the past month with various stakeholders to clear up any confusion about different provisions of the Bill. He had also stated that the Bill will trigger “some protests” as there is “political risk” involved in the decision, but that it will altogether satisfy the large majority of the public.

He also said that “Hindus” are not mentioned in the bill’s manifesto, and that the emphasis has been laid on “minorities.”

“There is no mention of Hindu in the manifesto of the Bill. The stress has been laid on minorities of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, which includes Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Jains and Parsis,” he had said.

BJP leaders have pitched the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the CAB as a package that will root out illegal migrants but will provide citizenship to persecuted communities from the neighbouring countries.

However, some opposition parties, like the TMC, have vehemently opposed the bill, even going on record to claim that the CAB hurts the ‘very heart and soul of the idea of India’.

“This is not about how many numbers BJP has in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. If you want to grant citizenship, grant citizenship to all. TMC has issued a whip for four days from Monday to Thursday in both houses,” TMC national spokesperson Derek O’Brien said on Friday.

The TMC has been opposed to the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) from its inception, with West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee even claiming that the CAB and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) were “two sides of the same coin” and the party’s stance to oppose it till the end.

The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha in January but lapsed without being cleared in Rajya Sabha.

The Opposition alleges that the bill targets Muslims and is at odds with the secular principles enshrined in the Constitution as it excludes a community.

Source: dnaindia.com