Kamal Haasan opposes CAB, calls it 'a betrayal' to India and its citizens

Actor-politician and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief Kamal Haasan on Wednesday, December 11, slammed the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) and said that it is a "betrayal" to the Republic. He said, "The CAB is a betrayal to the Republic and the Citizens to change the existing Constitution when there is no need to be changed."

He further slammed the Centre's move and said, "It is foolishness trying to convert the country into an adobe for only particular people. The people who have failed in their earlier attempts are trying again, this is not the old India for you to bring back your old ideas. The younger India will reject it."

CAB passes in Lok Sabha

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was passed on Monday, December 9, with a majority of 311 votes against 80 votes in Lok Sabha where 391 members were present and voting. The political debate over the bill is on-going in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, December 11. In the Rajya Sabha, the Modi government requires the support of at least 123 MPs in the 245-member House to pass the bill.

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About CAB

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. Through this bill, Indian citizenship will be provided to the members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian communities, who have come from the three countries to India till December 31, 2014, to put an end to them being treated as illegal immigrants in the country. The Bill was passed by the Lower House of the Parliament earlier this year but lapsed with the term of the previous Lok Sabha during the first term of the PM Narendra Modi government in the Centre. 

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