All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi stirred controversy when he said, "Amit Shah will be in the league of Hitler." Opposing the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in the Lok Sabha, Owaisi said, "I appeal to you (Speaker), save the country from such a law and save Home Minister also, otherwise like in Nuremberg race laws and Israel's citizenship act, Home Minister's name will be featured with Hitler and David Ben-Gurion."
Amit Shah counters Opposition
- Bill doesn't violate equality under law tenet
- Indira Gandhi gave citizenship to Bangla refugees in 1971
- Religion persecution in neighbouring countries
What is Citizenship Amendment Bill?
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian illegal migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, eligible for citizenship of India.
Highlights of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill
- Granting nationality to non-Muslim immigrants from neighbouring countries.
- The Citizenship Act, 1955, one of the requirements for citizenship was that the applicant must have resided in India in the last 12 months, as well as for 11 of the previous 14 years.
- Now the amendment relaxes the second requirement — from 11 years to six years.
- Provides that the registration of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders may be cancelled if they violate any law.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 seeks to provide Indian nationality to Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains and Buddhists fleeing persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Bill has already faced cold vibes from the opposition with the Congress calling it "unconstitutional".
Meanwhile, the BJP has issued a 3-line whip to all its members of parliament (MPs) to attend the session from December 9-11 to "support Government stand" on a slew of bills that the treasury bench is slated to move.
