Singh said BJP MPs must be present in Parliament in large numbers when Shah tables the bill, which is likely to be cleared by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday
New Delhi: The central government is likely to clear the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, at a meeting of the Union Cabinet scheduled has begun.
On Tuesday BJP leadership underscored the significance of the CAB by equating its importance with the move to nullify Article 370 provisions, with senior leader Rajnath Singh asking party MPs to be present in large numbers when Union Minister Amit Shah tables it in Parliament.
Sources said the issue of absent BJP MPs from Parliament was also raised at the parliamentary party meeting, as Rajnath Singh underlined Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dissatisfaction over lack of their adequate presence many times. Modi, who was not present in the meeting, has often in the past expressed his displeasure at absent BJP MPs.
The opposition parties criticized the Citizenship Bill and rejected, which seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan if they faced religious persecution there, Singh asserted that the BJP has always worked to unite India and its people.
According to sources Rajnath Singh also made a reference to the charge that the bill was against secularism as its beneficiaries excluded Muslims. Singh said the three neighboring countries were essentially Islamic countries and so it is non-Muslims and not Muslims who are at the receiving end of religious persecution there.
Singh said BJP MPs must be present in Parliament in large numbers when Shah tables the bill, which is likely to be cleared by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday.
On Tuesday Union Home Minister Amit Shah held discussions with representatives of students’ bodies and civil society groups of Assam on the proposed Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), sources said. Chief Minister of Assam Sarbananda Sonowal is among those attending the meetings. Several groups, including the influential All Assam Students Union, are believed to have conveyed to the home minister their concerns on the bill and how the proposed legislation could affect the indigenous people of Northeast India, the sources said. Northeastern states have opposed to Citizenship Amendment Bill in the cabinet meeting.
The Citizen Amendment Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, in order to grant Indian nationality to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians, who come to India due to religious persecution in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan even if they don’t possess proper documents. The consultations on CAB were initiated by the home minister on Friday and Saturday, and Tuesday’s meetings were a third such session on the subject. Shah has convened the meetings in the wake of strong protests in the Northeast against the CAB.
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