Citizenship Amendment Bill in Rajya Sabha | Highlights: CAB Clears Upper House Deck After Hectic Debate, 125 MPs Support Law, 105 Vote Against It

After a hectic round of debate in Rajya Sabha, which lasted for roughly eight hours, the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 has cleared the decks of Upper House. A total of 125 lawmakers voted in favour of the legislation, whereas, 105 MPs voted against the law which proposes to naturalise non-Muslim refugees.

Voting on the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 is currently underway in the Rajya Sabha. After a heated round of debate, lawmakers of Parliament's Upper House are set to cast their vote on the contentious CAB, which aims to naturalise non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

The lawmakers of Congress are "resonating" the statements issued by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. "I wonder if this is coincidence or whether the Congress is deliberately doing so. Why their statements are similar to those emerging from the Opposition," Amit Shah said.

Hitting out at former ally Shiv Sena - which backed the legislation in Lok Sabha but has decided not to do so today in the Rajya Sabha - Amit Shah asked the party to explain why it has backtracked from its position and "changed colours" overnight. "The people of Maharashtra want to know," the Home Minister said.

Muslims of India are protected under the Constitution and their citizenship cannot be stripped, reiterated Home Minister Amit Shah. "Kapil Sibal said 'Muslims are not afraid of you'. We never want them to be afraid of us or anyone. It is the Opposition which is creating anxiety among them," Shah said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah lashed out at the Opposition for expressing outrage over the CAB only for excluding Muslim refugees. "Why is it not being appreciated that minorities belonging to six religions are being granted citizenship? Why is your concern restricted only to Muslims?" Shah asked.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has begun to reply in the Rajya Sabha over debate on Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), 2019. Shah initiated his counter-arguments by pointing out that the law is necessitated as the nation was partitioned in 1947 on the basis of religion.

Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad the Centre to explain why the Rohingya refugees of Myanmar, who have faced a genocide in Rakhine region, are being left from the purview of Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), 2019.

Shiv Sena, which continues to remain undecided on their stand over the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) 2019, may now abstain from voting. The party had earlier in the day conveyed that it would vote against the law as the Centre has not cleared the apprehensions raised by it.

Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees right to equality, is not being violated through Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), 2019. Numerous court judgements, said Swamy, have pointed that there are case-specific exceptions, he said. Swamy further lauded the BJP government for addressing the plight of persecuted non-Muslim minorities from neighbouring nations. The Congress and other parties have only been paying lip service for the past several years, the former Union Minister said.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill violates the vision of Constitution's architect Bhimrao Ambedkar, the ideals of founding father Mahatma Gandhi and goes against the dream of martyr Bhagat Singh, said Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lawmaker Sanjay Singh during the debate over CAB in Rajya Sabha.

"If this obnoxious, abominable, undemocratic, unreasonable, unpardonable, unjustifiable, unconstitutional Bill is passed today in this Council of State, it will become a black chapter in the annals of this Upper House," said MDMK MP Vaiko during the debate over CAB in Rajya Sabha.

Congress MP Kapil Sibal struck back at Home Minister Amit Shah for accusing the Congress for the partition of India in 1947. "Two-nation theory was not proposed by us, it was perpetrated by Savarkar. You are supporting his theory through this law. Congress had always opposed the two-nation theory," he said.

Sanjay Raut said that people who are criticising the Citizenship Amendment Bill are called 'anti-national'.

Former Union Minister P Chidambaram, while speaking in the Rajya Sabha during the debate over CAB, said he is "sure that the Supreme Court will strike down" the law.

"If this Bill is passed, it will be a blow to our secularism. You (BJP) have a mandate to justify all citizens of the country and not segregate one section and make them feel victimised," said DMK MP T Siva in the Rajya Sabha.

"This Bill challenges the very idea of India and negates every ideal of justice. This Bill should be withdrawn," Trinamool Congress lawmaker K Keshava Rao said during the debate over the CAB in Rajya Sabha.

The Shiv Sena will vote against the proposed Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019. The party had voted in favour of the law in the Lok Sabha. The flip-flop comes a day after the Congress, an ally of the Sena in Maharashtra, marked its dissent over the stand taken by the Uddhav Thackeray-led party.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), 2019 is inspired by Nazi ideology, alleged Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien. He recalled the Denaturalisation law passed in 1933 by Nazi Germany, which led to the immediate exclusion of 1,50,000 Jews settled in eastern Germany. In 1935, the Hitler regime had passed the Reich Citizenship Law, which declared that only those of German or related blood were eligible to be Reich citizens, O'Brien pointed out.

The proposed law is "anti-Bengali" and will be challenged in the Supreme Court, said Trinamool Congress lawmaker Derek O'Brien. "India is gradually moving from democracy to dictatorship," he said, adding that the Bill has imprints of Nazi ideology.