New Delhi, Dec 11, TEN Network | Minutes before the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill comes up for a crucial debate in the Rajya Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a renewed pitch for its enactment at a meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s parliamentary party meeting. The bill, PM Modi told his party’s lawmakers from the two Houses, will be written in golden letters, news agency PTI said.
PM Modi also stressed that the legislation would give a permanent relief to people who fled religious persecution from three countries in India’s neighbourhood: Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
The Prime Minister also said that some parties are speaking the same language as Pakistan on the citizenship bill, according to PTI.
The bill is scheduled to be tabled by Home Minister Amit Shah in the Upper House at 12 noon. “The Citizenship Amendment Bill will be tabled in Rajya Sabha at 12 pm today, and it will be passed in the house with comfortable majority,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, IT and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani were among the top BJP leaders who attended the parliamentary meeting.
The bill will expedite Indian citizenship for non-Muslims from the three countries who arrived in the country before December 31, 2014. It was passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday after a marathon, and often acrimonious debate that stretched for well over nine hours. The Lok Sabha passed it with 311 lawmakers voting in favour of the bill and 80 against it.
The BJP-led government will require the support of at least 123 MPs in the 245-member Rajya Sabha for the bill to be passed. (HT)
