Modi Celebrates New Citizenship Bill Passing Through Indian Upper Chamber Amid Protests

NEW DELHI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th December, 2019) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday welcomed the decision of the upper chamber of the Federal parliament to approve a controversial bill on simplifying the naturalization process for religious refugees from neighboring countries.

The bill amends the 1955 Indian nationality law to allow persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh to obtain Indian citizenship. It covers members of most major and minor denominations such as Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Zoroastrians, but excludes Muslims. The lower chamber approved the bill two days earlier.

"A landmark day for India and our nation's ethos of compassion and brotherhood! Glad that the #CAB2019 has been passed in the #RajyaSabha [the upper chamber]. Gratitude to all the MPs who voted in favor of the Bill. This Bill will alleviate the suffering of many who faced persecution for years," Modi tweeted.

According to Indian NDTV channel, 125 members of the upper chamber voted for it, and 99 voted against it.

The country's opposition claims the bill to be discriminatory due to its exclusion of Muslims, who are about 10 percent of the country's population. The opposition leaders are planning to challenge the bill in the supreme court for being discriminatory against Muslims.

The bill is expected to be delivered to President Ram Nath Kovind for signing in a few days.

As the bill passed through parliament, northern and northeastern India has seen a spike of mass riots against migrants. In the state of Assam alone 25 people have been injured in clashes with the police, and dozens more have been arrested, according to the latest data. On Wednesday, the Indian authorities declared curfew in Assam's capital of Guwahati.