Citizenship Bill: Swara Bhasker, Soni Razdan, Nandita Das, Gauahar Khan strongly object

The introduction of the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday led to a huge uproar in the Parliament. The topic also became a topic of discussion on social media, with hastags like #CitizenshipAmendmentBill2019, #CABBill, #IndiaRejectsCAB and #IndiaWithCAB being among the top trends on Twitter. Even the celebrities from the film industry were unhappy with the developments in the Parliament and expressed their thoughts in no uncertain terms. Swara Bhasker, Soni Razdan, Nandita Das and Gauhar Khan were among those who conveyed their opposition to the bill. They used some intense words like ‘Shame’, ‘the end of India’, a ‘sad day for Indian democracy’ and stated that it ‘undermines constitutional values’ and struck at the 'heart of the idea of India.' 

READ: Mamata Banerjee: Not A Single Citizen Will Be Allowed To Turn A Refugee Due To NRC & CAB

Swara Bhasker termed it as ‘SHAME’, reacting to a graphic of the votes over the bill in the Lok Sabha, that were 293 for it and 82 against it. Reacting to the comments of a journalist who called the bill as the ‘death knell of Indian Constitution’, Alia Bhatt’s mother Soni Razdan wrote, “This is the end of the India we all know and love. Or at least for many of us who do.” 

Nandita Das too replied to a news website’s report on it, writing, “The citizen amendment bill completely undermines constitutional values and the rule of law. We need to realise that this is beyond party politics as it strikes at the very heart of the idea of India. It will no longer be the country our leaders fought for.” Gauahar Khan too wrote, “#CitizenshipAmendmentBill sad day for Indian democracy!” 

READ: Citizenship Bill Debate LIVE Updates: Debate On Features Of CAB Underway In Lok Sabha

At the time of publishing this story, the Citizenship Amendment Bill was up for discussion in the Parliament. The Trinamool Congress expressed its opposition by stating that it was against Article 14 and Article 11 of the Indian Constitution. Congress too protested over the bill. “This is against article 14, article 15, article 21, article 25 and 26 of the Indian constitution. This bill is unconstitutional and against basic right of equality,” was Manish Tewari’s opinion. 

READ: Akhilesh Yadav: Samajwadi Party Will Oppose Citizenship Amendment Bill At All Costs

What is the bill about? 

The bills seeks to amend the provisions of the Citizenship Act 1955 that give refugees belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhism, Jain, Parsi and Christian religions from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan the right to be eligible for citizenship. It also reduces the number of years, from 14 to 6 years, for naturalised citizenship. It means those belonging to the aforementioned religions and nationalities can apply for Indian citizenship after living in India for six years. The citizenship of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders' too can be cancelled if they commit any crime. 

READ: Citizenship Bill (CAB) Causes Huge Furore In Parliament: Here's Who's For & Who's Against