Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday said he was delighted that the Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, after a rich and extensive debate. The contentious Bill was passed at 12:02 am this morning after over seven hours of heated debate in the House as the Opposition argued the proposed law was “divisive” and “communal”. “I thank the various MPs and parties that supported the Bill. This Bill is in line with India’s centuries-old ethos of assimilation and belief in humanitarian values,” the Prime Minister said. PM Modi applauded Union Home Minister Amit Shah for “lucidly” explaining all aspects of the Bill. “He also gave elaborate answers to the various points raised by respective MPs during the discussion in the Lok Sabha,” he said. The Bill, which was cleared by the Union Cabinet last week, seeks to provide Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, Jains and Parsis — leaving out Muslims — who entered the country from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh until December 31, 2014.
