New Delhi, December 11: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after skipping the debate over Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), 2019 in the Lok Sabha, chose to lambaste the Opposition at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Parliamentary meeting on Wednesday. While addressing the BJP lawmakers, PM Modi said the arguments against CAB - emerging from the Opposition camp - are resonating with the views of neighbouring arch-nemesis Pakistan. Citizenship Amendment Bill: Govt Busts ‘Myths’ About CAB, Day Before Introducing It in Rajya Sabha. Get Party Ready With Shanaya Kapoor! Outfits to Seek Inspiration for Your Weekend Parties (View Pics)

New Delhi, December 11: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after skipping the debate over Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), 2019 in the Lok Sabha, chose to lambaste the Opposition at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Parliamentary meeting on Wednesday. While addressing the BJP lawmakers, PM Modi said the arguments against CAB - emerging from the Opposition camp - are resonating with the views of neighbouring arch-nemesis Pakistan. Citizenship Amendment Bill: Govt Busts ‘Myths’ About CAB, Day Before Introducing It in Rajya Sabha.

"Some Opposition parties are speaking the same language as Pakistan on the Citizenship Amendment Bill," Modi was reported as saying at the BJP meeting by sources linked to news agency ANI. The Parliamentary meeting was called to finalise the party's strategy in Rajya Sabha, where the CAB is set to be tabled today.

Update by ANI

Sources: PM Modi in BJP Parliamentary party meeting said that some Opposition parties are speaking the same language as Pakistan on the #CitizenshipAmendmentBill pic.twitter.com/EqIcbZv0wH

— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2019

The CAB cleared the Lok Sabha decks on Monday, with a total of 311 lawmakers voting in favour of the law as against 80 MPs who opposed it. The passage was preceded by a hectic round of debate in Parliament's Lower House, with members of the Opposition camp accusing the Modi government of violating Article 14 of the Constitution by using religion as a criterion for granting citizenship.

The contentious law, proposed by the Centre, aims to grant citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh if they have entered the nation before December 31, 2014. The law specifically mentions six religious denominations whose adherents who be applicable to be issued citizenship. They are: Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Christians, Parsis and Sikhs.

Hyderabad lawmaker Asaduddin Owaisi, who tore a copy of the Bill in Lok Sabha as a mark of protest, said the law would end up "reviving the two-nation theory". The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief claimed that the law, if implemented, would end up betraying Indian Muslims who had accepted the vision of freedom fighter Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and rejected the proposal of Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 11, 2019 11:27 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).