Citizen Amendment Bill: Story so far

At the stroke of midnight, the Lok Sabha passed the controversial Citizen Amendment Bill. Yes, it took almost 12 long hours of debating in the lower house of the parliament, where the BJP has a majority on its own.

The bill surpassed its initial hurdle, like it did on January 8, earlier this year. However this time it was passed with 311 votes in favour and 80 against it. 

So, here are a few things you need to know before forming an opinion:

The Proposed legislation seeks to fast-track citizenship for persecuted minority groups from nowhere but in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. 

The six minority groups that have been specifically identified are Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians and Parsis. However, the Act doesn’t have a provision for Muslim sects like Shias and Ahmedis who also face persecution in Pakistan.

How did the Union home minister Amit Shah justified the intentions of the bill?

In his reply to over six-hour-long debate on the Bill, Shah insisted that the proposed law does not discriminate against Indian Muslims but aimed at protecting continued persecution of minorities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

He also said that the Bill was a result of the failure of the 1950 Nehru-Liaquat pact. And there is a distinction between illegal immigrants and refugees. 

What’s more, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday night took Twitter to express his delight over the passage of the Bill in the Lok Sabha, "Delighted that the Lok Sabha has passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 after a rich and extensive debate. I thank the various MPs and parties that supported the Bill. This Bill is in line with India's centuries old ethos of assimilation and belief in humanitarian values," he tweeted.

He said he would like to specially applaud Home Minister Amit Shah for lucidly explaining all aspects of the measure. "He also gave elaborate answers to the various points raised by respective MPs during the discussion in the Lok Sabha," Modi said.

Well, in case you have missed, 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. 

Presently, the Constitution of India provides for citizenship by naturalisation – for people who have lived in India for the past 12 months and for 11 of the past 14 years. It also provides for people whose parents or grandparents were born in India to become Indian citizens.

Who are illegal immigrants from India's perspective?

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