Citizenship Amendment Bill Clears Lok Sabha

Tuesday,10 December 2019 04:02 AM IST

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill about midnight on Monday after almost 12 hours of heated discussions, with 311 votes in favor and 80 against. Union Home Minister Amit Shah rejected the accusation of the opposition that it violates the basic principles of equality of the constitution. He also challenged the right of Congress to describe the bill as discriminatory when it was the same party which, during the 1947 partition, "divided India on the grounds of religion." The bill seeks to make it easier for non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to become Indian citizens.