Ambuj Tripathi
ambuj.tripathi@thelucknowjournal.com
New Delhi, 11 December: The Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB)-2019 for granting citizenship of India to minority refugees (Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Christian, Buddhist and Jain) from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh got the approval of Parliament. The Rajya Sabha passed the bill by 125 votes against 105. The Lok Sabha passed the bill on Monday.
With this, the way of giving citizenship of India to minorities from these three neighboring countries before 31 December 2014 was cleared. Earlier these people got legal permission to reside in India. After the partition of the country in 1947, the refugees who came to India from time to time are going to be freed from 70 years of hellish life and their deportation will be converted into citizenship.
Earlier, the House rejected the opposition’s proposal to send the bill to the Select Committee by 124 votes against 99. The amendments introduced by various members also rejected the House through voice and vote division.
The BJP does not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha, but the bill was passed due to some other parties including Janata Dal United (JD-U), All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Biju Janata Dal (BJD). The Shiv Sena walked out of the House opposing the bill. However, the Shiv Sena voted in favor of the bill in the Lok Sabha.
After discussing the CAB-2019 in the Rajya Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah responded point-by-point, addressing the opposition’s allegations and apprehensions.
He said that if the partition of India had not been done on the basis of religion, it would not have been possible to bring this bill. Under the Nehru-Liaquat pact in the 1950s, both sides agreed that the people of minority societies would be given equality like the majority. If Pakistan had taken care of the interests of minorities, this bill would not have come today. Pakistan did not keep the promise and the minorities there were also prevented from contesting elections. Their number continued to decrease. India kept the promise and held a minority here and held many high positions like President, Vice President, Chief Justice. Minorities were protected here.
Members of the opposition, including the Congress, termed the bill as anti-constitutional and morally unfair and said that the new law will not survive a legal trial. Congress’s P. Chidambaram and Kapil Sibal said that the Modi government is moving towards establishing ‘Hindu Raj’ on the pretext of this bill.
Shah alleged that the Congress was working to create confusion among Muslims. “Congress is creating an atmosphere of fear in them. No one needs to fear this bill. The purpose of this bill is to simplify and speed up the process of granting citizenship of India to all minorities in three countries. The minorities include Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians and Parsis. Muslims are not a minority in these countries, so they were not included in it. He said that the opposition is only concerned about why Muslims are not included in it. The secularism of the Congress means the inclusion of Muslims,” Shah added.
The Home Minister said further that the Congress has been expressing different opinions according to politics at different times. “In the Congress government in Rajasthan, 13,000 Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan gave citizenship. The Congress party supported the granting of ‘non-Muslim’ citizenship from Pakistan. Shah said that Mahatma Gandhi himself had given a statement in favor of giving citizenship and jobs to Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan,” Home Minister said in Rajya Sabha.
Rejecting the opposition’s allegations of bringing the bill with the intention of electoral gains, Shah said that the election will be held after four and a half years. The Modi government is taking this step, not for electoral gains, but to solve long-standing problems. He said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fights and wins elections due to its leader (Narendra Modi) and his popularity.
Shah said that this is not the first time he has brought amendments to citizenship, this has happened many times. The reason for this was that a group affected by a particular situation has been given citizenship of India from time to time. When citizens of Uganda, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were granted citizenship at different times, the issue of granting citizenship to other groups was not known.
Shah assured that Modi government has brought a bill through which the refugees will fearlessly say that yes they are refugees, give them citizenship and the government will give citizenship. Those who have given the injuries today ask why these injuries are inflicted. When Indira Gandhi accepted refugees from Bangladesh in 1971, why did she not accept Sri Lankan refugees.
He said that the problems are solved at the right time. It should not be given a political color. The right to equality in Article 14 does not prevent the making of laws which are based on proper classification. The proper classification here is today. We are not taking only one religion, we are taking all the minorities of the three countries and taking them which is oppressed on the basis of religion.
Shah quipped over Congress that the Congress party is a strange type of party. When in power, there are different principles in different roles. Shah said that former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh had also said earlier in this House that minorities there in countries like Bangladesh were being oppressed resulting in they are compelled to move to India. Hence, it is our moral responsbility to give them Indian citizenship.
Responding to the allegations of Congress leader Kapil Sibal, Shah said that Kapil Sibal was saying that Muslims are afraid of us, we do not say that they should be afraid of us. There should be no fear. He said that everyone should trust the home minister of the country. This bill is not going to harm any Muslim siblings living in India.
