Mamata urges people not to get scared of Citizenship Bill
World+Biz
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday urged people not to be scared of Citizenship Amendment Bill.
"Don't be scared of the bill. We are with you. As long as we are here nobody can impose anything on you," Mamata said while addressing an event, reports ANI news, an Indian news agency.
Nobody should be driven out of the country, she added.
Lower House of Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha) passed the Bill on November 9.
The bill will grant citizenship to religious minorities from India's neighbouring countries, amid concerns it violates the spirit of the country's secular constitution.
The bill seeks to amend 1955 law to grant citizenship to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Christians, Sikhs and Parsis facing persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan - but excludes Muslims, reports Aljazeera.
Activists and some opposition parties have said the proposed law is discriminatory, in what critics said is a fresh attempt to sideline the nearly 200-million-strong Muslim minority.
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