CAB has nothing to do with secularism and Indian Muslims, says JD(U)

With the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 being passed in the Lok Sabha, receiving 311 votes in favour of the bill and 80 against it, Janata Dal (United) MP Kaushalendra Kumar on Tuesday stated that the party supported the bill in the Lok Sabha because it found nothing wrong in the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. He asserted that the bill did not interfere into the lives of the Indian Muslims.

While talking to a news agency, the JD(U) MP said, "We supported the bill as we found out that it had nothing to do with secularism. This bill is for the Hindu, Parsi, Sikh and other refugees from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh who have come to our country seeking refuge. It has nothing to do with the Indian Muslims."

MP Kaushalendra Kumar, however, refused to comment on why JDU's vice-president Prashant Kishor had raised his objection against the party's stand on the bill and said, "I do not know what his (Kishor) understanding of the bill is and what is his take on it."

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Earlier on Monday, Kishor had expressed disappointment over JD(U) supporting the CAB in the Lok Sabha. He also took to his official Twitter handle on Monday and expressed his disappointment over JD(U) supporting the CAB in the parliament.

JD(U), which is BJP's ally in the center and in Bihar was among those parties which extended their support to the passage of CAB in the Lower House of the Parliament.Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha slammed the JDU for supporting the CAB in Lok Sabha and stated that the bill will lead to "Israelisation of the country".

"It is saddening that Nitish Kumar is supporting the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. It will lead to Israelisation of the country. They are trying to convert an ocean, which is India, into a small pond," Jha said.

"Today a condolence meeting would have been held in heaven in which Nehruji, Gandhiji, Patelji and others would have sat in silence while (Mohammad Ali) Jinnah would have come and taunted Gandhiji by saying that let alone Pakistan, India has now become parallel to Israel," Jha said, criticising the CAB.

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Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019

Lok Sabha on Monday midnight passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 with 311 votes in favour and 80 against the Bill. Opposition leaders Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Saugata Roy, N K Premchandran, Gaurav Gogoi, Shashi Tharoor, and Assaduddin Owaisi opposed the introduction of the bill in the Lok Sabha, which seeks to give citizenship to non-Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan escaping religious persecution there, saying it violated various provisions of the Constitution, and was a move to grant citizenship on the basis of religion. According to the sources, the bill is likely to be introduced in the Rajya Sabha on December 11. 

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(With inputs from ANI)