Today, the Union Cabinet passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill which aims to grant citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan in case they faced any religious persecution there.
According to Bloomberg Quint, this bill, aimed at making amends the Citizenship Act of 1955, is to be introduced in the Parliament in the next couple of days.
Speaking to reporters against the passing of such a bill, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said:
I think the bill is fundamentally unconstitutional because the basic idea of India has been violated in the bill. Those who believe that religion should determine nationhood… that was the idea of Pakistan, they created Pakistan.
He added:
We have always argued that our idea of our nation was what Mahatma Gandhi, Nehruji, Maulana Azad, Dr Ambedkar have said, that religion cannot determine nationhood.
He argued that India is a country for everybody, irrespective of religion. People have equal rights in this country and the Consitution reflected that.
Today, this bill undermines this fundamental tenet of the Constitution.
-Shashi Tharoor
Five other bills excluding the Citizenship Bill were also passed during today’s cabinet meeting.