Citizenship Bill Debate LIVE Updates: Debate on features of CAB underway in Lok Sabha

In a massive victory for the Modi government, the Lok Sabha on Monday approved the tabling of the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 with 293 votes for and 82 votes against it. The Bill which was introduced by Home Minister Amit Shah in the Lok Sabha at 12:30 PM. He was met with severe opposition, with several leaders claiming that the bill was unconstitutional and should not be introduced.

Opposition against CAB

While BJP has claimed that the bill will grant citizenship to 'persecuted minorities' coming from 'Muslim majority'country, Opposition has claimed that the move was aimed at promoting BJP's pro-Hindutva stance. Most opposition parties like Congress, CPI (M), most north-eastern parties, AIMIM, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party have openly revolted against the bill, with Sena demanding that the refugees who enter through the Citizenship Bill must not be given voting rights for 25 years to curb vote-bank politics. There are ongoing protests outside the parliament, Jantar Mantar and several parts of Assam - Guwahati, Dibrugarh, and Agartala. 

What is the CAB?

First introduced in the Lok Sabha in July 2016, the bill was finally passed by the Lok Sabha in January 2019, but expired in the Rajya Sabha. Protests, which first sprung in 2016, have already reportedly sprung around Assam this week led by the All Assam Students' Union (AASU), which has stated that the will not be accepted by people. Massive faceoff is expected over the Bill in the Rajya Sabha where the BJP  does not hold an absolute majority.

• The Bill amends the Citizenship Act 1955 to make refugees who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible for citizenship, as explained by PRS.

• It also relaxes the terms of naturalised citizenship, from the original 14 years to six years. Anyone belonging to the above-mentioned six religions and three countries can apply for citizenship after residing in India for the stipulated six years.

• The Bill allows cancellation of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders' citizenship if they violate any law, including minor offences like parking violations.

• Many lawmakers have argued that since the Bill allows refugees i.e. illegal migrants to apply for citizenship based on religion, it may violate Article 14 which guarantees the right to equality.

• In the new draft of the Bill, Shah who met with the several Chief Ministers and politicians from the northeastern state politicians from November 29, has offered to exempt the inner line permit areas in Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh and areas falling under the Sixth Schedule in the region from the Bill.

Amit Shah's argument supporting the CAB

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, " The bill is not against minorities but against infiltrators", while introducing the bill. He added that the Congress "divided" the country on the basis of religion that is why it was necessary to bring the bill. Shah said the proposed legislation is being brought on the basis of reasonable classifications provided under the Constitution and it does not violate any of its provisions.

The bill, he said, seeks to give Indian nationality to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who are facing religious persecution there. The home minister said laws were framed to give citizenship to people on several occasions in the past, including in 1971 after the creation of Bangladesh and attacks on Indians in Uganda, by using the provision of reasonable classifications.

"This bill is not even .001 per cent against minorities. It is against infiltrators," he said adding "Muslim refugees can apply separatedly and the government will consider such cases".

Earlier, opposition leaders Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Saugata Roy, N K Premchandran, Gaurav Gogoi, Shashi Tharoor, Assaduddin Owaisi opposed the introduction of the bill, saying it was violative of various provisions of the Constitution, including move to grant citizenship on the basis on religion. Owaisi also compared Shah to Davi Ben-Gurion, who was the found father of the state of Israel an Israel's First Prime Minister as well. He also stated that Shah's name will go down in history alongside Hitler.

Pema Khandu tweets in support

What are the exemptions offered in the Citizenship Amendment Bill?

The Bill states, "Nothing in this section shall apply to Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution, and to the areas covered under the inner line notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873."

Inner Line Permit (ILP)

The Inner line permit (ILP) currently existent in Nagaland, Arunachal and Mizoram, makes it mandatory for Indian citizens from other states visiting the three states to carry the document of ILP mentioning the  areas they can visit and the duration of the visit. Moreover, reports state that long-time residents who do not belong to the 'indigenous' communities are required to carry the ILP and renew it every six months.

Sixth Schedule regions

Meanwhile, the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution defines the autonomous councils and districts in the tribal areas of Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya, and Mizoram which have the power of self-governance. Hence, in these specific areas non-local communities are barred from owning land and business in this area.

December 2014 cut-off

Several reports state that the politicians who attended the CAB meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah have claimed that the migrants who entered after December 31, 2014, would not be eligible for citizenship under the bill.

Home Minister Amit Shah addresses the Lok Sabha on the features of the Citizenship Bill as the debate begins in the Lok Sabha.

He added, "In 1947, all refugees which came in, all were accepted by the Indian constitution, there would hardly be any region of the country where refugees from West and East Pakistan didn't settle. From Manmohan Singh ji to LK Advani ji, all belong to this category."

North east states' exemptions under CAB

"Nagaland and Mizoram are protected by Inner Line Permit and it will continue to remain protected. Keeping in mind the feelings of Manipur, we're including them into the Inner Line Permit as well," he said adding, "In this Bill, we're protecting the social and linguistic uniqueness of the North East people. Nobody needs to fear it."

He also stated that "Meghalaya is protected by the Sixth Schedule, and we're keeping the Sixth schedule of the ambit of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill."

He aIso said that he has discussed this matter for 119 hours in recent times with over 140 NGOs, political parties and CMs of several states and that their suggestions have been duly included in this Bill.

Opposition calls Bill unconstitional, claims it is based on religion

Congress claims 'Savarkar started two-nation theory'

While WB CM Mamata Banerjee assured people of Bengal that NRC and CAB will never be implemented in Bengal,

Her nephew Abhishek Banerjee opposed the bill in the Lok Sabha