The controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill, which had faced the ire of the public followed by widespread protests will be tabled in the Rajya Sabha in the afternoon hours of December 11th, 2019.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) is confident of getting the Bill passed in the Upper House as the numbers isn’t an issue. The bill which was passed in the Lok Sabha during the last Parliament session got lapsed in the Rajya Sabha. 

The Lok Sabha on December 10^th, 2019 passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019, that seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Bill was tabled by Union Home Minister Amit Shah at 11:50 am on December 9th, 2019.

Meanwhile, BJP’s Parliamentary party meeting is underway at the Parliament library. It is reported that Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu has given six hours for debate and voting on the bill during Rajya Sabha’s business advisory committee.

Among the Opposition leaders who will speak during Citizenship Amendment Bill debate in Rajya Sabha, are Kapil Sibal from Congress, Derek O’Brien from Trinamool Congress and Ramgopal Yadav from Samajwadi Party.

Ahead of the passage of the bill protests have intensified in the state against the Bill in Assam along with other Northeastern states. The North East Students’ Organisation(NESO) backed by various other bodies had called for 11-hour Northeast bandh on December 10^th, 2019. Normal life came to a standstill as thousands of protesters took to the streets and raised slogans against the bill.

In Assam, the activists of All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) waved black flags at Sarbananda Sonowal in Guwahati. Nagaland was exempted from the purview of the bandh in view of the ongoing Hornbill Festival.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi after BJP parliamentary party meeting said that the Bill will be tabled in Rajya Sabha at 12 pm and it will be passed in the house with a comfortable majority. ” PM Modi said that the Bill will be written in golden letters for people who are persecuted on the basis of religion” he said.

The Bill seeks to grant Indian citizenship to the people belonging to the Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Parsis who have become the victims of religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan and entered India on or before December 31st, 2014.

Photo Credit: Newsmobile