New Delhi: Even as the Modi Government is determined to pass the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 in the parliament amidst opposition from various quarters, it has raised eyebrows in the US as the Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has given a critical statement on it.
The Commission has said that “it was deeply troubled over the passage of the bill in Lok Sabha. It alleged that the CAB enshrines a pathway to citizenship for immigrants that specifically excludes Muslims, setting a legal criterion for citizenship based on religion.”
Religious pluralism is central to the foundations of both India and the United States and is one of our core shared values. Any religious test for citizenship undermines this most basic democratic tenet. #CABBillhttps://t.co/7wyeXMFfxl
— House Foreign Affairs Committee (@HouseForeign) December 9, 2019
The House foreign affairs committee has also tweeted a similar concern. It said, Religious pluralism is central to the foundations of both India and the United States and is one of our core shared values. Any religious test for citizenship undermines this most basic democratic tenet.”
The government had passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 in the Lok Sabha yesterday after a heated debate. While introducing the Bill, Home Minister Amit Shah had made it clear that people belonging to any religion should not have any fear under the BJP-led government.
The US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) issued statement on Monday saying it is deeply troubled over the passage of Citizenship Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha. CAB is a dangerous turn in the wrong direction; runs counter to secular pluralism, it said.
The Bill has provisions for members of the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, till December 31, 2014 facing religious persecution there, will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.
The Bill was passed with 311 members favouring it and 80 voting against it and will now be placed in the Rajya Sabha for approval.