Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday took a dig at the Congress party during his response on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha. Congress is such a secular party that it partnered with the Muslim League in Kerala and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, Shah quipped in a late-night discussion on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in the lower house.
Shah asserted that the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is not in violation of constitutional provisions. It will give relief to people living a painful life after facing persecution in neighbouring countries, he said. Had India not been divided on religious lines, there was no need for the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, he said targeting the opposition Congress. The Bill is not violative of Article 14 of the Constitution as it aims to give citizenship to persecuted people, he said.
According to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, till December 31 2014, facing religious persecution there, will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.
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