Bollywood actress Payal Rohatgi has taken a dig at a couple of her colleagues from the film industry, saying that actresses Swara Bhasker and Richa Chadha may be Rohingya Muslims as they are scared of Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB).
Amit Shah, the Union Minister of Home Affairs, introduced the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Lower House on Monday. It was passed in the Lok Sabha, with 311 votes in support and 80 against.
The Bill seeks to give Indian nationality to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. It seeks to amend the definition of illegal immigrants for Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist and Christian immigrants, who have lived in India without documentation. They will be granted fast-track Indian citizenship in six years.
The Bill has kick-started a big debate across the country with many film stars defending and opposing it. Opposing the contentious bill, Swara Bhaskar tweeted, "(In India..) Religion is not the basis of citizenship. Religion cannot be the basis of discrimination. And the state cannot take decisions based on religion. CAB pointedly excludes Muslims.." - in NRC/CAB project Jinnah is reborn! Hello Hindu Pakistan!"
Swara Bhasker added, "I do not want my hard-earned money as a taxpayer to be spent in funding this sick bigoted NRC/CAB project! #CAB #CABAgainstConstitution #CABBill #NRCBill #IndiaAgainstCAB."
Richa Chadha also opposed the Citizenship Amendment Bill. She retweeted the news about the passing of the Bill and expressed her shock and helplessness. She wrote, "GOD SAVE US."
Payal Rohatgi, who calls herself a proud Hindu and Hindu activist, was one of the celebs who welcomed the Citizenship Amendment Bill. The actress also went to mock the people like Swara Bhasker and Richa Chadha for opposing the bill.
The actress tweeted, "Swara Bhasker & Richa Chadha are maybe Rohingya Muslims who are DISGUISED with Indian Citizenship so they are scared of #CAB OR their ancestors must have been forcibly converted Mughal invaders & they are under influence of the attacker. Please help them #payalrohatgi."
Payal Rohatgi added, "Those who were crying that India is not safe for Muslims are now crying that why don't India open it's door for Muslims from Muslim countries #DaraHuaMusalman का क्या हुआ Hypocrites! कौन है ? हम नाम नहीं लेंगे #CitizenshipBill #CABBill #payalrohatgi."
