Even As North East Boils, Citizenship Amendment Bill Gets President's Assent, Becomes Act

Amid the ongoing protests and violence in the North East over it, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 has received the assent of President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday, turning it into an Act. According to an official notification, the Act comes into effect with its publication in the official gazette on Thursday.

The controversial bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday with 125 votes in favour and 99 against it.

The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday night, with a majority of 311 votes against 80.

What¡¯s the uproar about?

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 seeks to give Indian nationality to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan facing religious persecution there.

According to the proposed legislation, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, till December 31, 2014 and facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.

"We reject this bill. It is against the Constitution and against Hindu-Muslim unity," Badruddin Ajmal, AIUDF MP from Dhubri, Assam, told reporters when asked about the CAB.

Protests were held in all major cities of Assam, with shops being closed in Guwahati following a shutdown call by various organisations opposing the bill. In Agartala and West Bengal also protests broke out against the bill.

Violation of the fundamental right to equality?

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor submitted a notice in the Lok Sabha to oppose the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill at the introduction stage on the grounds that it "violates" the fundamental right to equality.

Tharoor submitted the notice this morning under Rule 72 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha. The Bill violates the Fundamental Right to Equality prescribed by Article 14 since it infringes upon the principle of "equality before law" and the "equal protection of laws" guaranteed to all persons, including non-citizens, Tharoor said in his notice.

The Bill endorses the idea of religious discrimination by allowing individuals of only six religious identities to acquire citizenship while excluding the individuals belonging to other religious identities, he said.

It is, therefore, beyond the legislative competence of the House to enact a "legislation of this nature" since Article 13 clearly states that "the State shall not make any law which takes away or abridges the rights conferred" by Part III of the Constitution, Tharoor argued.

Citing these reasons, Tharoor said he wishes to oppose the proposed Bill and request the permission of the Speaker, to elaborate upon these submissions before the House in a "full discussion" so that the motion for introduction is not allowed, the notice read.

Massive protests, political opposition against CAB

Protests were also held in different parts of the country over the introduction of the bill. In Assam, the bill is facing huge protests as the people say that it will nullify the provisions of the Assam Accord of 1985, which fixed March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date for deportation of all illegal immigrants irrespective of religion.

In the meanwhile, accusing the BJP of dividing society, Samajwadi Party chief and former CM of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav said the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was an insult to country and its constitution.

"I had earlier said that their (BJP's) politics is diverting attention and dividing society. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is an insult to India and the Constitution," Yadav said in a tweet.

The former UP chief minister also alleged that the ruling BJP had failed to fulfil its poll promises. "The income of the farmers has not doubled. The Ganga has not been cleaned. Black money has not come back. There are no jobs. Daughters could not be saved nor there is any development," he said.

On the other hand, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee gave a clarion call to oppose NRC and Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and said not a single citizen of the country will be allowed to turn a refugee.

Giving assurances that NRC and CAB will be never allowed in Bengal as long as the TMC is in power, Banerjee said NRC and CAB are both two sides of a coin.

"There is no need to worry about NRC and CAB. We will never ever allow it in Bengal. They can't just throw out a legal citizen of this country or turn him/her a refugee," Banerjee said while addressing a victory rally at Kharagpur- where her party TMC won the recent by-polls.

The Shiv Sena has also opposed granting of any voting rights to illegal "intruders" even as it advocated citizenship for immigrant Hindus. The bill (CAB) seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan escaping religious persecution there.

"Illegal Intruders should be thrown out. Immigrant Hindus must be given citizenship, but let's give rest to allegations of creating vote bank & not give them voting rights, what say? And yes what about pandits, have they gone back to Kashmir after article 370 was removed?" Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut tweeted in the morning and tagged Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who will introduce the CAB in the Lower House.

While there is considerable opposition to the Bill, the government appears determined to make it law by getting approval from both the houses of the parliament. There are fears that eventually any such situation will leave the country more divided than ever.

Towards Two-Nation Theory?

India and Pakistan became two separate countries after independence but whereas Pakistan was built as a free land for Muslims, India, on the other, sought to establish itself as a secular and democratic republic that regarded all its citizens, irrespective of caste creed and religion, as equal. The Indian Constitution too became the edifice of India's secular credentials and provided that laws be applied to everybody equally and without any discrimination.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill, because it will become a constitutional act, will become the law of the land and its adherence will be mandatory on people just like any other laws that apply to them currently. It is thus worth reflecting whether we are living up to the promise we made to ourselves at the time of the independence, and during the course of its struggle, or gradually slipping the other way on a similar line that was envisioned for Pakistan by its founders.