Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday condemned the passage of Citizenship Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha and called it a violation of international human rights law. The Citizenship Amendment Bill, which seeks to grant Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, Buddhists, Jains from three neighbouring countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan if they faced religious persecution there, was passed in the Lok Sabha with 311-80 votes on Monday night after over seven hours of debate and discussions.
Imran Khan took to Twitter and said: "We strongly condemn Indian Lok Sabha citizenship legislation which violates all norms of int human rights law & bilateral agreements with Pak. It is part of the RSS "Hindu Rashtra" design of expansionism propagated by the fascist Modi Govt. (sic)”
According to the proposed legislation, non-Muslim migrants who fled their respective countries and came to India before December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution, will be given nationality.
The Citizenship Amendment Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha after a heated debate which stretched for seven hours. In a hard-hitting reply to the debate on the proposed legislation, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said people belonging to any religion should not have any fear under the Modi government as he asserted that the bill will give relief to those minorities who have been living a painful life after facing persecution in neighbouring countries.
Shah also said the Modi government will definitely implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) across the country and when it will be done, not a single illegal immigrant will remain in the country. Shah said there is a difference between illegal immigrants and those who have come after facing religious persecution in the three neighbouring countries.
"No one should have any fear of being persecuted under the Narendra Modi government," he said after a nearly seven-hour-long debate which was marked by fiery speeches by MPs belonging to both the opposition and the ruling alliance.
The home minister said had India not been divided on religious lines in 1947, there was no need for the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
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