Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019: Amit Shah Tables Law to Naturalise Non-Muslim Refugees in Lok Sabha, Opposition Up in Protest
"This is a regressive legislation. It has no other purpose than targeting the minority population," Chowdhury said as the Bill was tabled. The Behrampur MP was countered by Home Minister Amit Shah, who reiterated that the legislation will not target a single minority community, but only illegal settlers from the neighbouring nations.
New Delhi, December 9: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday tabled the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) 2019 in Lok Sabha. The law, which proposes to naturalise non-Muslim refugees, is being challenged by a wide section of the Opposition. Led by the Congress, the non-NDA lawmakers rose up in protest against the law, calling it violative of the "Constitutional ethos" and the 1985 Assam Accord. Here's All You Need to Know About the Contentious CAB.
The proposed law aims to amend the 1955 Citizenship Act, by allowing naturalisation of refugees to India from the three neighbouring nations - Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The citizenship, however, would be granted only to those refugees who are either Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Christians or Parsis.
Before the Bill was tabled in the House, Congress' Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury marked the party's apprehensions against the law, stating that the legislation is violative of the principles laid down by founding fathers Mahatma Gandhi and Bhimrao Ambedkar. "India believes in its constitutional ethos. How can religion be considered as a factor of citizenship," he said.
"This is a regressive legislation. It has no other purpose than targeting the minority population," Chowdhury said. The Behrampur MP was countered by Home Minister Amit Shah, who reiterated that the legislation will not target a single minority community, but only illegal settlers from the neighbouring nations.
Outside Parliament, members of the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) staged a protest against the CAB, claiming that the Bill is not only subjecting Muslims to discrimination, but would also end up denting the demography of Assam.
In Guwahati, a shut down has been called by the powerful All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and other organisations, calling upon the Centre to withdraw the law as it is violative of the Assam Accord. As per the agreement inked in 1985, the Centre had agreed that it would deport immigrants who entered into the state after March 24, 1971.
The CAB, however, proposes to naturalise refugees who entered India till December 31, 2014 -- provided they adhere to non-Islamic faith. Considering the apprehensions raised by the northeastern states, the Centre has incorporated provisions in the law which exempts areas with Inner Line Permit (ILP) and those under Sixth Schedule of the Constitution from the law.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 09, 2019 12:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).