IndianEra > Editor's pick > Indian Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 Passed in Lok Sabha

Finally, the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) 2019 passed the test in both Houses of the Indian Parliament.

After a much-heated debate until the midnight of December 09, 2019, Home Minister Amit Shah announced that ‘National Register of Citizens (NRC)’ is arriving!

While the opposition raised voices against the Bill for excluding the Muslim community from the list of beneficiaries, Shah clarified on the clear line of difference between refugees fleeing religious persecution and infiltrators.

Amit Shah Indian Citizenship Amendment Bill

The Bill seeks to offer citizenship to non-Muslim refugees including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan on the lines of religious persecution.

The Bill was passed by 311-80 vote count. The opposition’s debate over making the Bill ‘religious-neutral’ faced a defeat by 304-94, 311-12 and 312-09 vote margins.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed happiness at the passing of CAB after seven hours of intense debate in Lok Sabha. “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,” he said in a statement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Expressed about CAB

Amit Shah clarified Rohingya refugees will never be considered for Indian citizenship, adding that the country won’t need any refugee policy as we have laws in place.

He also reiterated Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) belongs to India and the government already has 24 seats reserved for them in J&K assembly.

Later on, the Bill was tabled in Rajya Sabha on December 11, 2019, where it saw huge support from NDA allies. The Bill got passed in the Upper House too with 125 votes against the 105 denying that.

Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) Video Part 1

Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) Video Part 2

Opposition Voices Concerns

Responding on this decision, Congress senior leader Chidambaram said the Bill is patently unconstitutional and said the battleground will now shift from the Parliament to the Supreme Court.

“CAB is unconstitutional. Parliament passes a Bill that is patently unconstitutional and the battleground shifts to the Supreme Court. Elected Parliamentarians are abdicating their responsibilities in favor of lawyers and judges!” Chidambaram tweeted.

“It’s a divisive Bill and should be opposed at any cost. In a secular country like India, citizenship can never be accorded on the basis of religion,” said Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal Chief Minister.

Northeast States Call for Shutdown


As the Lok Sabha passed the Bill, all Northeast states other than Nagaland called for complete shutdown on December 10, 2019. Protestors argue that the Bill’s imposition on NE states will open flood gates to illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

“Whole of Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram are protected by the Inner Line Permit (ILP), they have nothing to worry about. All of Nagaland, except a small part of Dimapur is also protected by Inner Line Permit, they too have nothing to worry,” Amit Shah said in a statement.

A Dangerous Turn in Wrong Direction: US

USCIRF

While the Indian opposition parties termed CAB as divisive and causing insecurity, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) called that a “dangerous turn in the wrong direction”.

USCIRF said its deeply disappointed at the Bill’s religious inclination and urged the US Government to impose sanctions on Amit Shah if the Bill is passed in the Rajya Sabha too.

It said the CAB, along with ongoing NRC, is creating fears among the Muslim community on their citizenship status.

“The CAB enshrines a pathway to citizenship for immigrants that specifically excludes Muslims, setting a legal criterion for citizenship based on religion. The CAB is a dangerous turn in the wrong direction; it runs counter to India’s rich history of secular pluralism and the Indian Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law regardless of faith,” it said in a statement.

“Couched in the language of refuge and seemingly directed at foreigners, but its main purpose is the delegitimisation of Muslims citizenship,” says Historian

Stay tuned for much interesting updates about Indian politics and government announcements.


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Posted by IndianEra, 10/12/2019