BREAKING: CITIZENSHIP (AMENDMENT) BILL PASSED IN LOK SABHA WITH A MAJORITY OF 311 VS 80 VOTES!

The Lok Sabha, in the early hours of Tuesday, passed the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which seeks to provide citizenship to refugees belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Parsi, Jain and Buddhist communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

If it gets a nod from Rajya Sabha and becomes a law, people from these communities will no longer be jailed or deported under the Foreigners Act of 1946 and the Passport (Entry into India) Act of 1920.

Responding to opposition's claims that the bill is discriminatory, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said "there will be no discrimination based on religion."

“Citizenship Bill is not violative of Article 14 of Constitution as it aims to give citizenship to persecuted people,” he added.

Earlier, over 1,000 scientists and scholars from across the country released a statement on the bill saying "use of religion as a criterion for citizenship" is 'unconstitutional'.

Shah repeatedly emphasised that the bill is not against muslims and explained the difference between a refugee and an infiltrator saying that the definition of the two should not be mixed-up.

“There is a difference between a refugee and an infiltrator. Those who come here due to persecution, to save their religion and the honour of the women of their family, they are refugees and those who come here illegally are infiltrators."