Tue. Mar 19th, 2024
Sonia Gandhi

Expressing her unhappiness over the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi said that it marks the “victory of narrow-minded and bigoted forces over India’s pluralism.
As quoted by ANI, she said, “Today marks a dark day in the constitutional history of India. The passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill marks the victory of narrow-minded and bigoted forces over India’s pluralism.”

Rajya Sabha has also cleared the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on Wednesday with the support of 125 members of the Upper House while 105 members voted against the bill. Previously, the bill was passed by the Lok Sabha with a majority of 311 votes against 80 in the Lok Sabha out of a total of 391 members who were present and voted.

Speaking further on the much-debated bill, Sonia Gandhi said that it is contradictory to the idea of India that the nation’s forefathers had fought for. The Congress leader also added that the bill aims to create a divided India. As quoted by ANI, she also said, “Citizenship Amendment Bill is not just an affront to the eternal principles of equality and religious non-discrimination that have been enshrined in our Constitution, but represents a rejection of an India that would be a free nation for all her people, irrespective of religion, region, caste, creed, language or ethnicity.” 

The Congress party has been a very vocal opponent of the CAB idea right from the moment Home Minister Amit Shah planned on to introduce it in the parliament. The party has also decided to hold “Bharat Bachao” rally on December 14 at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi. The rally aims to attract the public attention towards the anti-people policies of the Narendra Modi government.

bharat-bachao-rally

The bill is being vehemently opposed by various political outfits and student organizations in North-eastern states. Dibrugarh in Assam has been imposed with the curfew.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill), 2019 bill seeks to declare Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zorastrian, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan eligible for citizenship who came to India before December 31, 2014. Although the Bill only carries the provision of citizenship for the non-muslim population that arrived from the neighboring nations.

By Saurabh Parmar

Digital Journalist (Specializing in Indian affairs & Contemporary Political development)

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