New Delhi-The Lok Sabha today passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019. The Bill seeks to grant Indian Citizenship to persons belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have migrated to India after facing persecution on grounds of religion in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, if they fulfil conditions for grant of citizenship. Introducing the Bill, Union Minister for Home Affairs, Amit Shah said that while no where does this bill target Indias minority community, but illegal immigrants would not be allowed to stay in the country at any cost.
Replying to the debate, Shri Shah said that misconceptions are being spread about the bill that it is against any particular community, but this is a humanitarian step to grant citizenship to those who suffered for the last 70 years. He said that failure of the Nehru-Liaqat pact of 1950 is also one of the reasons of bringing about this Bill. He further said that it was Congress Party which accepted the partition of India on religious ground and therefore the need for the Bill was necessitated. The Home Minister also asked the members to distinguish between the genuine refuges and the intruders. Shri Shah said that Narendra Modi Government is committed to security and all equal rights to all and there would be no discrimination based on the religion.
