New Delhi, December 9: With 293 in favour, the Citizenship Amendment Bill was roped in for discussion in the Lok Sabha. As some parts of the nation created furore on the bill, Union Minister Amit Shah rightfully stated that there is no political agenda behind the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) and there is no question of injustice with anyone. His remark came amid the protest by the oppositions which labelled the legislation as ‘regressive’. As the historic debate looked into various aspects of the bill, the Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill with 311 ‘Ayes’.
Having a detailed debate over the bill, Union Minister said that the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is not against the Article 14 of the constitution. “Because of reasonable classifications in Article 14, this Bill is not against the constitution.” Explaining the move, Shah asserted, “Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan are Islamic nations. This Bill aims to make citizens out of minorities and it will restore rights & respects. Number of minorities in Pakistan reduced from 23% to 3%. Number of minorities in Bangladesh has gone down too. These minorities need to be protected.”
Furthermore, denying Manish Tewari's statement that India has signed the UN refugee convention, Amit Shah said Indian laws are enough to manage refugees and India did not sign any refugee convention. Home Minister Amit Shah while responding to the arguments against Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), 2019 said that the Nehru-Liaqat pact failed to achieve its objectives of protecting minorities in Pakistan and it is now being remedied by the Narendra Modi government. Shah also took on the Congress by stating that it is so non-communal (secular) that it aligns with Muslim League in Kerala and Shiv Sena and Maharashtra.
Shah also took on Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek after the latter quoted Rabindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhay and Swami Vivekananda to oppose the CAB. Shah in his response questioned that did Tagore envision a Bengal where one has to take the court’s permission for Durga Puja visarjan or is prevented from celebrating Saraswati Puja.
Reiterating his stand on Rohingyas, Shah stated that India will never accept Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. “Rohingyas will never be accepted. Myanmar is a secular country and the refugees come through Bangladesh. Talking about Indian Muslims, he said, “Indian minorities have nothing to fear. There is no discrimination against Muslims in India.” Claiming that there is a difference between infiltrators and refugee, Article 370 and Article 371, Amit Shah assured that the government will never touch Article 371.
Assuring the Northeast states that they should not be worried about the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill as they are covered under the Inner Line Permit (ILP), Amit Shah asserts that the whole of Arunachal Pradesh & Mizoram is protected by the Inner Line Permit (ILP), they have nothing to worry about. All of Nagaland, except a small part of Dimapur is also protected by Inner Line Permit, they too have nothing to worry.
The Lok Sabha saw a war of words between Home Minister Amit Shah and the Opposition, with Shah insisting that the bill was “not even 0.001% against the minorities of the country”. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury called it “nothing but a targeted legislation over minority people of our country”, while the TMC called it "divisive and unconstitutional".