Will Citizenship Bill in its Present Form Be Passed?

Guwahati: As the much-debated Citizenship Amendment Bill is slated to be tabled in the Lok Sabha next week, top guns of the political field are making their stands clear on the Bill. Many parties earlier against or in favour of the Bill are now changing their stand.

While BJP is confident of getting the Bill passed in the Lok Sabha due to overwhelming majority, much cannot be said about Rajya Sabha as it banking on its non-allied regional parties. If reports are to be believed, around 122 members in the Rajya Sabha are already supporting the Bill.

Amid resentment brewing across the nation, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati said that her party is against the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in its current form. Mayawati has asked the govt to reconsider aspects of the Bill and send it to the parliamentary committee. The BSP chief told this at a press conference in Lucknow on Thursday.

Terming the Bill as ‘unconstitutional’ and ‘divisive’, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati said that the government has brought the legislation in a hurry and forced on the countrymen. She also said that the Bill will divide the people in the name of religion which is against what BR Ambedkar had dreamt.

Mayawati said that the party would have stood with the government if it was for the welfare of the people just like the way it supported the scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill was cleared by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday and is expected to be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

The controversial legislation seeks to provide citizenship to non-Muslims from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh fleeing religious persecution in their countries.

On the other hand, Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma held Pakistan responsible blamed Pakistan for forcing India to draft legislation allowing persecuted minorities to settle here. He also told NDTV that Citizenship Bill can never be ‘secular’ in nature because it seeks to provide citizenship to "religiously persecuted" refugees from Muslim-dominated neighbours.

While Shiv Sena has said that the party will vote against the Bill in the Parliament, the BJD will back the new Bill since it has exempted tribal areas in the northeast region.

Also Read: Citizenship Bill to Be Tabled In Parliament on Monday; Congress to Oppose

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