Union Cabinet Clears Citizenship (Amendment) Bill; to be tabled next week

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 that seeks to provide Indian nationality to Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains and Buddhists facing religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

The Bill, which amends the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make illegal migrants in select categories eligible for citizenship, has been vehemently and strongly opposed by the opposition and political parties including Trinamool, DMK, Samajwadi Party, RJD and the Left and even regional parties like BJD, minority outfits and the civil societies alike citing the bill ‘unconstitutional’.

The Bill has been sparking widespread resentment in the northeast owing to fear psychosis among the people that granting citizenship to the foreign refugees will jeopardize the identity of the ethnic communities living in these regions.

The Bill was tabled in the Union Cabinet today amid the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament which started on November 18. It may be mentioned here that the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha in January this year but was stalled in the Upper House due to massive objection by the opposition.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday asked BJP legislators to be present in large numbers in the house and that the bill is at the top priority for the government, as crucial as the Article 370 decision to nullify special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

The opposition is of the view that the bill does not adhere to the secular principles enshrined in the constitution as it excludes the Muslim community. Intellectuals also say that this bill is a violation of Article 14 which guarantees the right to equality.

The bill was tabled in Lok Sabha in 2016 and was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee later.

As per information available, the Centre now is likely to table the bill at the ongoing session of the Parliament on December 10th, 2019 amid oppositions and protests in Assam and the other Northeastern states.

While it won’t be a herculean task for BJP to get the nod in Lok Sabha as it has an overwhelming majority there but in Upper House, it is banking on its allies like JD (U) and Akali Dal.

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