A day after Rajya passed the bill, President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday gave his assent to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, turning it into an Act. After which, Union Home Minister Amit Shah was called as 'New Jinnah' on social media.
According to the Act, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 and facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha on Wednesday and by Lok Sabha on Monday.
Netizens took to Twitter and said that Amit Shah is a modern-day Jinnah who wants to divide the country on religious lines.
One user said, 'Shah and Modi are more dangerous than Hitler and Jinnah combined'. While other user said, "People are getting divided on the basis of faith."
Here's what Twitterati had to say:
The Act says the refugees of the six communities will be given Indian citizenship after residing in India for five years, instead of earlier requirement of 11 years. The Act also proposes to give immunity to such refugees facing legal cases after being found as illegal migrants. According to the legislation, it will not be applicable to the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and in the areas covered under the Inner Line Permit, notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.
Protests against the legislation have intensified since Monday in the Northeast. Two persons were killed on Thursday in police firing in Assam with thousands descending on streets defying curfew even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed his government was committed to safeguarding their rights.
The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) moved the Supreme Court challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, saying it violates the fundamental Right to Equality of the Constitution and intends to grant citizenship to a section of illegal immigrants by making an exclusion on the basis of religion.
(Inputs from PTI)
