The controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill of India was finally passed at midnight on December 9, after a 12-hour session of arguments in ‘Lok Sabha,’ the lower house of Indian Parliament. It won with a majority of 311 MPs voting in favor of the Bill. A total of 80 votes came against the Bill introduced by Home Minister ‘Amit Shah’ in the Lok Sabha on Monday morning. The CAB has been in controversy since its inception owing to its provisions for people belonging to 6 specific religions, which excludes the Muslim refugees.
CAB Gets Clearance In Spite Of Numerous Counter Attacks on Its Terms
Congress party leaders strongly opposed the bill calling it “unconstitutional”. They blamed the BJP party of promoting ‘Hindu’ dominance in the otherwise diverse Indian culture. ‘Asaduddin Owaisi,’ party leader AIMIM (Muslim Minority) rejected the Bill calling it clear discrimination against Muslims. He also said it was a conspiracy to target the Muslim community. TMC’s ‘Saugata Roy’ questioned Shah for including religion-based and region-based conditions in the Bill. All the opposing parties sought divisions in the Bill.
The Citizenship Amendment Bill facilitates a smooth path of acquiring Indian citizenship for refugees in India, specifically from Pakistan, Afghanistan & Bangladesh. It will provide citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs, Parsis, & Christians. Also, no document will be required from the above-mentioned criterions that have entered India before December 31, 2014.
There were heated discussions and opposition to the Bill. However, the Home Minister was able to clear the passage for it. The home minister specifically mentioned that the provisions had been made to grant citizenship to refugees who entered India due to religious persecution in the previous countries, and not for infiltrators. He defended the provisions were alleged as ‘against the constitution’ and also stated that this bill is not an anti-Muslim Bill in any regard. He assured that the Bill does not violate any constitutional or human rights, and the existing rights of any groups will not be impacted due to this Bill.
North-East Agitated with the passing of Citizenship Amendment Bill
The Bill will be in legislation once it wins the battle in ‘Rajya Sabha,’ which is the upper house of Parliament. BJP is elated with the Bill clearing the Lok Sabha. However, since the Northeast states except Manipur have been kept out of purview in Bill’s terms, Northeast has erupted in protest against the CAB.
The states of Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura observed an 11- hour ‘bandh’(strike), including the shutdown of transports, universities, and government offices. They have condemned the Bill, saying that the BJP Party at Centre wants to change the demography of the north-eastern states. This will only add to the unemployment and other social woes in the areas.
In Assam, protests were held outside the Chief Minister’s house and BJP’s chiefs’ house. Student organizations throughout Assam protested with full force as Police came into action to control the mob, which was disrupting traffic and normal life in the area.
In ‘Tripura,’ many Tribal parties protested by disrupting rail & road traffic. In most of the state, the schools, offices, and shops were shut down. Even ‘Meghayala’ had several anti-CAB protests in front of the BJP office, where the agitators burnt effigies of Indian PM ‘Narendra Modi’ and Home Minister ‘Amit Shah’. The protests don’t seem to faze off anytime soon.
