Former Union Minister and Ex Bhartiya Janta Party Leader Yashwant Sinha on Sunday said the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 will not be passed in the Rajya Sabha even as he insisted that the Modi government is not going to come to power for the second time in 2019. The veteran politician, who quit the BJP last year, said while delivering a speech at a talk event organized by a citizens’ forum in Guwahati.
‘Before coming here, I met lots of people. Except for the BJP, all the people told me that they won’t let the Bill pass in the Upper house at any cost. So, I don’t think the government will dare to pass the Bill by force in the Rajya Sabha,” the former BJP leader said.
“Sometimes they do it… In case of important bills, sometimes they are passed by voting amid ruckus in the House. But considering the importance of the Citizenship Bill, I don’t think they will dare to pass the Bill amid ruckus,” he said.
“The ongoing session of Parliament will be over in two days and this is the last Parliament session of this government. I would also like to tell you with confidence that this government is not coming to power for a second time. So there is nothing to worry. If there are still worries, please wait for two days, after February 13, we all can breathe easy,” Former BJP Leader Sinha said.
He dubbed as “incorrect from all angles” the bill which seeks to provide citizenship to six minority groups from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
“This Bill should not be passed because it is incorrect from all angles — legal, constitutional, moral. And from the point of view of the Assam Accord, it is incorrect. This Bill is also against the ethos of the country. There is nothing like merit in this bill,” the former Finance Minister said.
“The Bill has posed an existential question before the people of Assam and northeast. If someone tries to end your existence, obviously he or she will protest and that is the reason the people of the northeast are protesting. If the entire northeast is standing up against the Bill, it is because it has posed an existential threat to the whole of the region,” he said.
The Controversial Citizenship Bill ever since passed in Lok Sabha in Winter Session have led to protests in the North-East States. Bill is expected to to be Tabled in the last session of the Current Lok Sabha.
The bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, to grant Indian nationality to people belonging to non-muslim minority communities — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians — in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan after six years of residence in India instead of 12, even if they don’t possess any proper document.
Lok Sabha on January 8 cleared the way for Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 amidst massive outrage with Congress staging a walkout from the House. Congress asserted that the Bill has been opposed by many states and it should be sent to select committee.
[With Inputs from Agencies]
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