Kapil Sibal, TMC's Derek O'Brien, SP's Ramgopal Yadav to speak on CAB in Rajya Sabha

Congress Kapil Sibal, Derek O'Brien of Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Ramgopal Yadav of Samajwadi Party (SP) are among opposition leaders who will speak during debate on Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which is listed for introduction in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. After conclusion of a 12-hour-long debate, which saw participation of 38 MPs from across political spectrum, Lok Sabha on Monday midnight passed  Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 with 311 votes in favor and 80 against Bill. 

Bill is scheduled to be tabled by Home Minister Amit Shah in Upper House at 2 pm.  NDA will require support of at least 123 MPs in 245-member Rajya Sabha for Bill to be passed. Opposition leaders Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Saugata Roy, N K Premchandran, Gaurav Gogoi, Shashi Tharoor, and Assaduddin Owaisi opposed introduction of bill in Lok Sabha, which seeks to give citizenship to n-Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan escaping religious persecution re, saying it was violative of various provisions of Constitution, including move to grant citizenship on basis of religion.

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Opposition reaction on Bill

Chidambaram described Citizenship (Amendment) Bill as "patently unconstitutional" on Tuesday and said with its pass in Parliament, battleground will shift to Supreme Court.  Sibal put forth his stand against  Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, and accentuated how it goes against very ethos of Constitution. Objecting to divisive nature of Bill, Sibal urged Home Minister Amit Shah to read a Constitution before making a statement in Parliament.  

AIMIM Asaduddin Owaisi, in a dramatic protest, tore apart a copy of Bill arguing it to be anti-national, inside  Lok Sabha on Monday evening. Ripping apart Bill introduced by Home Minister Amit Shah, Owaisi claimed that it will lead to a new partition of country.

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Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday opposed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and said his party will never support bill. "We are against Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and party will oppose it at all costs," he told reporters. Party MP Azam Khan also backed his party stands saying that CAB is an "insult" to country. 

Trinamool MP and party supremo Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee rigidly opposed Bill and called BJP 'divisive.' Banerjee furr asserted that BJP's idea of India is lost in 'mob lynching and communalism.' Furr contending Bill, Trinamool MP questioned exclusion of or neighbours like Sri Lanka and Myanmar in process, over government's claim that Bill is on basis of persecution.  A division of opinion was witnessed within JD(U), with Rajya Sabha MP Pawan Varma and party vice president Prashant Bhushan contending 'discriminatory' Bill, while, chief Nitish Kumar backed Bill which was piloted by Home Minister Amit Shah.

(With ANI inputs) 

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