Congress stalwart Kapil Sibal opposed the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday saying that the Bill gave legal colour to the two-nation theory which led to the partition of India and the birth of Pakistan in 1947.
"Religion cannot be a factor in considering if a person should be granted citizenship or not, this Bill gives legal colour to the two-nation theory, " Sibal said.
In his reply to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who has on several occasions said that the amendment in the Citizenship Act would not have been needed had Congress not divided India on the grounds of religion, Sibal said, "I don't understand which history books the Home Minister has been reading. Two-nation theory is not our (Congress') theory. It was perpetrated by Savarkar."
"I request the home Minister to withdraw the allegation because we in Congress believe in that one nation, you do not believe in that. You say that the Muslims of this country do not need to be scared, let me tell you, nobody is scared of you, I am not scared of you, the common citizen is not scared of you and the Muslims of India are not scared of you," said Sibal addressing Amit Shah.
Echoeing the sentiments of the rest of the Congress leaders, Kapil Sibal concluded by saying, "The bill weakens the foundation of our culture and ethos. Don't convert the secular republic of India into a Jurrassic republic."
The Citizenship Amendment Bill which would given Indian citizenship to non-muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, has been a topic of hot debate both inside and outside the parliament.
The government, on the back of its huge majority in the Lok Sabha, managed to pass the bill by a heavy majority late Monday night. The Bill is being debated in the Rajya Sabha, where the voting will be carried out later today.
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