On Wednesday, Derek O’Brien – a Rajya Sabha MP from TMC – lashed out at the Modi government over the Citizenship Amendment Bill, claiming it was ‘eerily similar to citizenship laws passed in Nazi Germany in 1933-34’.
He said NRC and CAB were ‘linked’ and slammed PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for using ‘words like vermins,, termities, cockroaches to refer migrants like Nazis’ and slammed them for ‘dehumanising a class of humans’.
He appealed to BJD and JD(U) to oppose the bill.
This led to a sharp reaction from Dr Anirban Ganguly who said: “I am impressed with your knowledge of #Nazism, #Nazi philosophy, #Nazi history @derekobrienmp ...Joseph Goebbels has a worthy successor in you. As an aside, your influence & touch is also clearly seen in the manner @MamataOfficial runs her administration in #WestBengal #CABBill.”Dr Anirban Ganguly is the director of Dr Syama Prasda Mookerjee Research Foundation (SPRMF), a think tank associated with the BJP. He is also a Member of Policy Research Department of BJP and the National Co-Convener of BJP’s Library and Documentation Department.
What it the CAB?
The Bill seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Zoroastrian communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh and entered India on or before December 31, 2014.
After heated discussions spanning seven hours, the Citizenship Bill was passed by a majority of 311 votes against 80 in the Lower House where 391 members were present and voting on Monday.
The NDA will require the support of at least 123 MPs in the 245-member Rajya Sabha for the Bill to be passed.
Meanwhile, the Constitutional Amendment Bill, which seeks to extend the reservation for SCs and STs in Lok Sabha and state assemblies by another 10 years, was passed by the Lower House on Tuesday.
The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Sixth Amendment) Bill, 2019, was passed in the Lok Sabha with a division with 355 members voting in its favour and none against it.
It is scheduled to be introduced in Rajya Sabha at 12 pm on Wednesday. Due to this, there will be no Question Hour in the Upper House today.
