The Lok Sabha late on Monday passed the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) which seeks to give citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan escaping religious persecution. The House cleared the Bill after a marathon heated debate with 311 MPs voting in favour and 80 against it.
The BJP-led NDA Government had introduced the Bill in its previous tenure and got Lok Sabha’s approval. But it did not introduce it in the Rajya Sabha, apparently due to vehement protests in the Northeast and lack of majority in the House. The Bill lapsed following the dissolution of the last Lok Sabha.
Trying to allay apprehensions of people of the Northeast, Shah said the Narendra Modi Government is committed to protect the customs and culture of people of the region and informed that Manipur will be brought under Inner Line Permit regime, where the proposed law will not be applicable.
Shah said whole of Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram are protected by the Inner Line Permit and they have nothing to worry about. Similarly, all of Nagaland, except a small part of Dimapur, is also protected by Inner Line Permit and they too have nothing to worry about.
Asserting that there is a difference between a refugee and an infiltrator, Shah said those who come here due to religious persecution and to save the honour of the women of their family, they are refugees, and those who come here for other reasons are infiltrators.
Justifying the provisions of the Bill, Shah said non-Muslims have faced massive religious oppression in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghansitan and their populations had dwindled there over the years due to forced religious conversion and killing. On the other hand, Muslims population went on increasing in India, because there was no religious persecution here.
He said in 1991, Hindu population was 84 per cent, and in 2011, it was 79 per cent. In 1991, Muslim population was 9.8 per cent and today it’s 14.23 per cent. “We have done no discrimination on basis of religion and in future as well, there will be no discrimination based on religion,” he said.
As he responded to a debate on the contentious legislation late on Monday, Shah said the Bill is not in violation of the constitutional provisions and it will give relief to people living a painful life due to religious persecution in the neighbouring countries.
“Had India not been divided on religious lines, there was no need for the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, he said targeting the Opposition Congress,” he said.
The Bill is not violative of Article 14 of the Constitution as it aims to give citizenship to persecuted people, he said.
According to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, till December 31, 2014, facing religious persecution there, will not be treated as illegal immigrants and will given Indian citizenship.
The Bill, which has been opposed by the Congress, Trinamool Congress and other Opposition parties, was introduced after a division of votes for which 293 MPs voted in favour and 82 against it.
Opposition leaders Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Saugata Roy, NK Premchandran, Gaurav Gogoi, Shashi Tharoor and Assaduddin Owaisi opposed the introduction of the Bill.
While defending the introduction of the Bill, Shah said the Congress had “divided” the country on the basis of religion that is why it was necessary to bring the Bill and added that it was brought on the basis of reasonable classifications provided under the Constitution.
The tabling of the emotive Bill comes even as there were protests and incidents of violence in Northeastern States with most of the student unions and regional political parties opposing it, saying it 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.
Rejecting suggestions that the Bill is anti-Muslim, Shah said the measure has the endorsement of 130 crore citizens of the country as it was the part of the BJP manifesto in 2014 as well as 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
“We will have to differentiate between intruders and refugees. Citizenship amendment bill does not discriminate against anyone and does not snatch anyone’s rights,” Shah said while initiating the debate on the contentious Bill.
Trying to allay apprehensions of people of the Northeast, Shah said the Narendra Modi Government is committed to protect the customs and culture of people of the region and informed that Manipur will be brought under Inner Line Permit regime, where the proposed law will not be applicable.
During the debate, which was marked by heated arguments, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi also tore a copy of the Bill, saying it was aimed at making Muslims “stateless” and will lead to another partition.
According to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, till December 31, 2014, facing religious persecution there, will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.
Opposing the Bill, Congress MP Manish Tewari said the Bill is “unconstitutional” and “contrary to the spirit of the Constitution which is secular”.
“Equals cannot be treated as unequal. When a person comes to India, he is a refugee. You cannot discriminate against him on the basis of religion,” he said during the debate.
“The Bill is against the Constitution, against the spirit of Constitution and against the ideology propounded by Babasaheb Ambedkar,” Tewari said. Discrimination on the basis of religion, he further said was not in tune with the Preamble of the Constitution which specifically mentions the word ‘secularism’. “Secularism is embedded in the Constitution,” he said.
Supporting the Bill, BJP MP Rajender Agarwal said the country cannot ignore the suffering of the people who have come here after facing religious persecution.
He said Pakistan has failed to protect its minorities under the Nehru-Liaquat pact.
While NDA allies the JD(U) and the LJP extended support to the Bill, fence sitters, including the BJD and the YSRCP also supported the bill while suggesting that Muslims should also be included in the Bill.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the NRC and the CAB will never be allowed in Bengal as long as the TMC is in power. “It’s a divisive bill and shall be opposed at any cost,” she said in Kharagpur while claiming that at least 30 people have committed suicide in the State due to panic over the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, said the Government was trying to create impression that by opposing the legislation, the party was anti-Hindu.
“We are opposing the Bill because it is discriminatory in nature. It wreaks havoc on the very foundations of the Constitution. This is a step towards Hindu rashtra. India should maintain the essence of humanity,” Chowdhury said.
Surpriya Sule (NCP) said the perception is that every Muslim is feeling insecured and the second largest minority community should not be felt left out.
Referring to DMK MP K Kanimozhi, Sula also asked, “What happens to those who practise atheism?” As per the Bill “On and from the date of commencement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, any proceeding pending against a person under this section in respect of illegal migration or citizenship shall stand abated on conferment of citizenship to him.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday said if the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is passed by Parliament, it will be a victory of the thoughts of Muhammad Ali Jinnah over Mahatma Gandhi.
Participating in the debate on the contentious Bill, Tharoor said the proposed legislation goes against the basic principle of the Constitution.
“If this Bill is passed, then it will be a victory of Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s thoughts over Mahatma Gandhi,” he said.
According to the proposed legislation, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, till December 31, 2014 and facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants and will be given Indian citizenship.