BackMuslims have nothing to worry about: Amit Shah
The Bill seeks to provide citizenship to non-Muslim minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and PakistanShah made it clear that while the Muslims of India had 'nothing to worry about'
PremiumNEW DELHI : Union home minister Amit Shah tabled the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday amid stiff resistance from Opposition parties such as Trinamool Congress and Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM.
The Bill seeks to provide citizenship to non-Muslim minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Shah made it clear that while the Muslims of India had “nothing to worry about," the government would not grant citizenship to Muslims from either of the three countries.
“In Lok Sabha, there was a huge misunderstanding that it is against the Muslims. The Muslims of this country have to worry about anything. But should the Muslims of Pakistan be made citizens? Should Muslims from Bangladesh and Afghanistan and the rest of the world also be given citizenship? The country cannot run like this. The citizenship will be given only to persecuted religious minorities only from these three countries," Shah told the Upper House on Wednesday.
Congress Member of Parliament Anand Sharma, however, opposed the Bill, stating that the Bill was “an assault on the foundational values of the Indian constitution and against the Preamble of the Constitution which talks of liberty, equality and secularism".
As the Upper House erupted in protests with the Opposition parties alleging that the Bill was discriminatory, Shah reiterated that the changes to India’s citizenship law will not be applicable to regions in the northeast protected by the Inner Line Permit and Sixth Schedule provisions. Both regimes aim to protect the way of life of tribal communities.
“The provisions of this bill affect lakhs of people who have been persecuted. After partition it was our vision that the minorities in these three countries should live with their rights intact and be able to practice their religion freely," Shah said, adding that “after several decades we have realized that whether it is Afghanistan or Pakistan or Bangladesh, the minorities were not protected and they were not given their legal rights," Shah said.
Quoting statistics, Shah informed the House that there had been a 20% decline in number of minorities in these countries.
“Where have they gone? Either they have been killed or they were forced to change their religion or have come to India as refugees. They ought to have been given legal rights but this did not happen," the home minister said amid protests by the Opposition.
Shah stated that even as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had mentioned the Bill categorically in its 2019 election manifesto, the Centre would “clarify all doubts of the indigenous northeastern states’ population, the law and will seek to protect Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs, Christians and Parsi religion from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh".
The Bill aims to provide citizenship to those who had been forced to seek shelter in India because of religious persecution or fear of persecution in their home countries, primarily Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. This is a drastic shift from the provisions of the Citizenship Act of 1955 that labels a person an “illegal immigrant" if he or she has entered India without travel documents or has overstayed the date specified in the documents.
The bill thus amends the 1955 Act to grant exemptions to illegal migrants from these communities, who reached India on or before December 2014.
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