Lok Sabha Passes Citizenship Amendment Bill

The Lok Sabha has passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill which aims to grant citizenship to non-Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

After an over seven-hour-long debate, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 was passed in the Lok Sabha with 311 members favouring it and 80 voting against it.

The Bill, which is expected to land in the courts if now approved by Rajya Sabha, has dominated news, with members of the leading opposition party, saying they will fight the government “tooth and nail” against the move. Several amendments brought by opposition members were defeated either by voice vote or by a division.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the Lok Sabha said the Bill provided citizenship to people who are discriminated on the basis of religion in these countries. Muslim citizens of these countries have been excluded because they cannot suffer discrimination on the basis of religion as they are recognised as Islamic countries by their constitutions, he said.

How The Bill Will Work

One of the most contentious amendments in the Citizenship Act, 1955, sought to be introduced through this Bill is the changes brought in Section 2(1)(b) of the act which defines who is considered an illegal immigrant in India.

Under Indian laws, an illegal immigrant is defined as an individual (foreigner) who has entered India without a valid passport or other travel documents or has overstayed in violation of their entry documents.

The amendment adds an exception to this for the people of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Citizens of these countries who have entered India before Dec. 31, 2014, will be exempted from this definition provided they are non-Muslims. Such citizens should have resided in India or must have the worked for the Government of India for at least five years unlike the 11-year period mandated prior to the amendment.

The amendment gives the power to the central government to grant such individuals certificates of citizenship and they will be considered to be citizens from the date of their entry into the country. All proceedings against the citizenship status of this class of individuals will stand abated from the day they apply for citizenship and they will not be denied of any rights and privilege during the pendency of their application.

The amendments will not be applicable in parts of northeastern India, including the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura, and parts of the protected areas of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, which are called “The Inner Line”.

Shah said that it’s “incorrect interpretation” that the Bill will prevent Muslims of these countries from becoming Indian citizens. “The government will consider with an open mind the applications of Muslims, too, if they apply for Indian citizenship.’’

Arguments Against the Bill

Opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Bill is led by the Indian National Congress, with Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary, the party’s leader in the Lok Sabha, calling the Bill “a regressive legislation”. The Bill, he said, violated Article 5 of the Indian Constitution, from which the Citizenship Act, 1955, derives its powers.

Member of Parliament and Former Junior Foreign Minister Shashi Tharoor agreed. He termed the Bill “an assault on the foundational values of our republic’’. The founding fathers of our country had decided that religion will never be a determination for nationhood, he said, calling the Bill a violation of the fundamental nature of our constitution.

The Supreme Court of India, in one of its watershed judgments in 1973, and the only in which all of its 13 judges were a part of, had limited the amending powers of the Parliament and said the legislative body can change the Constitution through amendments as long as it doesn’t violate the basic structure of the Constitution.

The MP from Thiruvananthapuram said the Bill was against the Preamble of the Constitution, which had been recognised as part of the basic structure of the Constitution. Tharoor also said the Constitution guaranteed the fundamental right for all persons and not just Indian citizens, whereas the Bill enshrined discrimination against the values of our constitution.

No Violation Of Constitution: Shah

The government argued that while the Constitution does guarantee a Right to Equality under Article 14, it also provides for Parliament to allow reasonable classification under this provision.

The home minister, who is leading the government’s defence of the Bill, cited instances when previous governments had allowed the entry of refugees from Bangladesh and granted them citizenship, such as during the 1971 war.

“Why were people of Pakistan not granted citizenship at that point?” Shah said, adding that the Right to Equality wasn’t argued at that point of time. This Bill also welcomes people of Bangladesh as persecution against minorities hasn’t stopped in the country till date, he said. Later, when the Assam Accord was signed by the Rajiv Gandhi-government, the cut-off year for accepting Bangladeshi refugees was kept at 1971 and nobody then raised the argument that it violated the Right to Equality, Shah said.

The home minister also cited the instance when refugees from Uganda were granted Indian citizenship and nobody opposed the move then too. The current Bill also makes a reasonable classification much like it has been done in the past, the minister said.

What Happens Next?

The Bill was introduced with 293 out of the total 375 members voting in its favour. Now that the Lok Sabha has discussed and passed the Bill, the next stop will be the Rajya Sabha. If both the houses of Parliament pass the Bill and the President gives his assent to it, it may land in the apex court, which will have to decide on legal arguments raised by both sides of the divide.