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Rajya Sabha passes Citizenship (Amendment) Bill

WION Web Team
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Dec 11, 2019, 09:24 PM IST
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FILE PHOTO: Union Home Minister Amit shah speaking in Rajya sabha on Tuesday.  Photograph:(ANI)

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In a dramatic turn of events, NDA's former ally Shiv Sena boycotted the voting process.

India's upper house the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill with 125 members favouring it and 105 voting against it.

In a dramatic turn of events, NDA's former ally Shiv Sena boycotted the voting process.

"My party and I felt that when answers are not given properly then it is not right to either support or oppose the bill," Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said.

"We didn't say that the refugees shouldn't be granted citizenship, they should be given. But we said that if it's a conspiracy for vote bank politics & allegations are being levelled against you then they should not be granted voting rights for 25 years," he added.

Earlier, the Rajya Sabha voted against sending the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill to a select committee of parliament for review.

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Ninty-nine members voted for sending the bill to the select committee, while 124 opted against it during the voting after the motion was moved by CPM MP, KK Ragesh.

Replying on the bill, Home minister Amit Shah said the bill is not going to hurt anyone's sentiments or make people of any community upset.

"The people who are worried that minorities of this country will be subjected to injustice, it will not happen," India's home minister asserted.

"Abrogation of Article 370, Triple Talaq Bill is not anti-Muslim. Do women not have rights? Kashmir is peaceful even after the abrogation of 370. Likewise, I don't believe the bill is anti-Muslim," he added.

Taking a dig at the Shiv Sena, Amit Shah said: "Shiv Sena supported the Bill yesterday. They should tell the people of Maharashtra as to what happened within the span of a night that they changed their stand today."

"It was asked that why were Rohingyas not included in the bill? Rohingyas don't come to India directly, they go to Bangladesh and then infiltrate into India from there," Amit Shah informed the House.

"This bill does not hurt the Article 14 of the Constitution," he said, adding, "this bill will not harm the minority communities including Muslims."

"There is no appreciation of the fact people from 6 religions have been included. But, the focus is only on why Muslims are not included."