Published 15:40 IST, December 12th 2019
Ahmed Patel: Passage of CAB not a landmark day, but darkest day in Indian history
Senior Congress party leader Ahmed Patel on Thursday stated that passage of CAB in both houses was not a landmark day but darkest day in the history of India
With both the Upper House and Lower House of the Parliament clearing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill for implementation, Senior Congress party leader Ahmed Patel on Thursday spoke about the CAB and the ongoing protests over the bill in North-Eastern states like Assam.
Talking to news agency ANI, Ahmed Patel spoke about how the current government does not think of the consequences that a Bill will have before its implementation. Calling it to be the darkest day in Indian history, the senior Congress leader said, "The unrest was likely to happen because they first take the action and then think about its consequences. It is not a landmark day, it is the darkest day in history."
Earlier on December 11, the Congress leader had taken to his official Twitter handle and had termed the passage of Bill in the Rajya Sabha to be a 'brute instance of abusing majority.'
PM Modi calls the passage of CAB to be 'landmark day'
Earlier on December 11, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken to his official Twitter handle and had called the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill to be a landmark day for India.
About CAB
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Zoroastrian communities who fleed fearing religious persecution from countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, and entered India on or before December 31, 2014. CAB was approved by the Parliament after Rajya Sabha passed the bill on December 11.
125 members of the Rajya Sabha voted in favour of the Bill while 105 MPs voted against the Bill. BJP's former ally Shiv Sena did not participate in the voting. The Bill, which grants citizenship to the non-Muslims who arrived in India before December 31, 2014, was approved by the lower house of the parliament on Monday night with a majority of 311 votes against 80 votes. 391 members were present in Lok Sabha at the time of voting.
Updated 17:57 IST, December 12th 2019