Amit Shah, the Home Minister of India, clarified about the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, and said its not anti Muslim.
After the opposition raised their concern for Indian Muslims and declared the Citizenship Bill is anti Muslim, Mr. Shah clarified and said, “They (Muslims) are and will remain citizens of the Country.”
Stating the worries of the opposition parties about the Muslims are an attempt to mislead the public, Amit Shah said, “There are attempts to spread misinformation that this Bill is against Muslims. Let me put it on record that it is not. This bill is only for minority communities of neighbouring countries. It has nothing to do with Muslims in India.” Shah said the Bill has nothing to do with Muslims and is for the people being persecuted in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh for their religious beliefs.
Mr. Shah said the Muslims in India are safe and would always remain so. He also appealed to the Indian Muslims not to fall for the misinformation and rumours spread by the opposition parties.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, promises citizenship to individuals who are Sikhs, Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Christians and Parsis from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Mr. Shah explained why Muslims are excluded and said “Some people are saying that we should give citizenship to anyone from neighbouring countries. These 3 neighbouring countries are Muslim majority nations and Islam is enshrined in their constitutions. Hence they cannot face religious persecution like other communities do. What are some people saying? That we should give citizenship to Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan too? Should we make Muslims from across the world our citizens? How can this be? How can a country function like this?”
On the 11th of December, Amit Shah tabled the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, in the Rajya Sabha for discussion. After being cleared in the Lok Sabha with a majority of 311 votes, the Bill needs to be passed in the Rajya Sabha with a majority of 121 votes, two thirds of the total strength of the Rajya Sabha, to become an act. The total strength of Rajya Sabha is 245 members.
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