The opposition says the Bill violates the Constitution.
The
Lok Sabha on Monday passed the controversial Citizenship
Amendment Bill (CAB) with 311 in favour and 80 against. The Bill
is likely to be taken up in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
In
his reply to over six-hour-long debate on the Bill, Union Home
Minister Amit
Shah insisted that the proposed law does not discriminate against
Indian Muslims but aimed at protecting continued persecution of
minorities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. He said the Bill
was a result of the failure of the 1950 Nehru-Liaquat pact. The home
minister said there is a distinction between illegal immigrants and
refugees.
Members
of the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Left parties and others disputed
this, terming it divisive and that it was a ‘trap’ and
inextricably linked to the National Register of Citizens (NRC)
exercise, which has ‘failed’ in Assam.
Shah
said there was no linkage, and only those indulging in “vote bank
politics” were thinking of it as a trap. He accused “some
parties” of creating an “atmosphere of fear”. “We are very
clear that we will carry out the NRC. This is not a ‘background’
for it, our manifesto is the background,” Shah said.
AIMIM
MP Asaduddin Owaisi said the Bill was a “conspiracy to make Muslims
stateless”, and ripped a copy of the Bill to highlight his protest.
Members from the treasury benches said Owaisi had insulted
Parliament.
Opposition
members said the Bill violated the Constitution, especially equality
before law enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution. The Congress
resolved to move the Supreme Court once Parliament passes the Bill.
Trinamool’s Abhishek Banerjee said the West Bengal government would
not allow NRC in the state.
Shah
disagreed that it was uncosntitutional, pointing out that the Bill
would grant citizenship to “persecuted minorities” in theocratic
states of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
