Citizenship Amendment Bill: MP's reactions
The Citizenship Amendment Bill was passed today by the Lok Sabha of India.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh
Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan all are Islamic states, followers of Islam cannot be persecuted there on basis of religion. This bill only gives citizenship to those who are persecuted on the basis of religion in these three countries.
Amit Shah
On Twitter: It is well known that those minorities who chose to make Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan their home had to constantly live in the fear of extinction. This amended legislation by Modi govt will allow India to extend them dignity and an opportunity to rebuild their lives.
In the Parliament: I extend my gratitude to PM Modi for making the historic Citizenship Amendment Bill a reality, that will allow India to open its doors to minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who are facing religious persecution. I thank everyone who supported this bill
After the bill was passed:
Why no Muslims in this bill? Simply because in the three countries that we have included in the bill, Muslims are not a minority there. If they were, we would have put them as well in the bill
Rohingyas will not be accepted in India, I want to clear this once again.
No citizen whether of a minority or not has no reason to worry as long as Narendra Modi is Prime Minister.
Former Assam chief minister and Congress leader Tarun Gogoi
This is dangerous for Assam, we are next door neighbours to Bangladesh. This bill will adversely affect the culture, heritage, and population structure of the northeast.
Prashant Kishor expresses disappointment over JD(U) supporting CAB
JD(U) national vice-president Prashant Kishor expressed disappointment over his party supporting CAB in the Lok Sabha, holding that the legislation discriminates against people "on the basis of religion". In a tweet late in the night when the Bill was put to vote and passed by the Lok Sabha with a resounding majority, Kishor sought to underscore that the Bill was "incongruous" with the constitution of the party, headed by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, which swore by secularism and Gandhian ideals.