______SUPPLEMENT TO SYNOPSIS OF DEBATE ______(Proceedings other than Questions and Answers) ______Wednesday, December 11, 2019 / Agrahayana 20, 1941 (Saka) ______

GOVERNMENT BILL The Citizenship Amendment (Bill), 2019 - Contd. SHRI SWAPAN DASGUPTA: The two categories of 'refugees' and 'migrant' are distinguished. In this Bill, the principle related to refugees has been taken from the definition of a refugee given under the Geneva Convention of 1951 but that principle has been put here into a specific context of . However, an attempt is being made through this Bill to make the entire Bengali Hindus, who came from East Bengal, invisible citizens. They have an identity, and that identity must be recognized. An attempt is being made to ignore the fact that they also actually suffered from persecution. Therefore, I register my protest. SHRI BISHWAJIT DAIMARY: There are some reasons for the apprehension among local people of the North-East regions about this Bill. After mass scale migration of foreigners from the neighboring countries, the local communities of the region felt marginalized. They strongly resisted the marginalization, in which many people were martyred and after that, an agreement was settled with the Central ______

 This Synopsis is not an authoritative record of the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha. 550

Government in 1985, according to which an assurance was given by the Central Government to grant constitutional protection to the local people of the region. But it has remained an assurance only for the last 35 years, and nothing has happened so far to fulfill the assurance. Therefore, the people have lost their faith and due to this, they doubt the intention behind the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 also. They apprehend that after implementation of this Bill, more refugees will come there and become citizens and it would adversely affect the interest of local population. There is a lot of difference between the people from other places of our country and the local people of the North-East region. They cannot assimilate with other people, as the local people have lived with their art, culture and language for thousands of years. Here today again, an assurance has been given by our Home Minister while introducing this Citizenship Bill and I do hope that his assurances will be converted into reality. Necessary provisions should be made for preservation of art, culture and language of the local people and also to ensure their political security. Provisions should also be made to ensure that the local people could have control over the administration. Such provisions need to be made under this Bill, which are necessary to implement Section 6 of the Assam Accord. Therefore, I support this bill. .SHRI BIRENDRA PRASAD BAISHYA: (Spoke in Assamese.) SHRI P. CHIDAMBARAM: We have a Citizenship Act in this country, which recognizes citizenship by birth, by descent, by registration, by naturalization and by incorporation of territory. These are universal principles. Now, this Government is introducing a new category called ‘citizenship by arbitrary executive fiat’ and asking this Parliament to support the Government in passing. We have a responsibility to pass what is constitutional. This Bill will eventually go before the Judges and they will ultimately decide what we do is constitutional or not. Knowing this is unconstitutional, I am absolutely confident that this law will be struck-off. Government has to take ______. Synopsis of speech delivered by hon’ble Member in Assamese will be published separately as supplement.

551 responsibility for answers to these relevant and well-known questions. How do you group three countries – Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh – and leave out the other neighbours? How do you identify only six religious groups – Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian – and leave out others like Ahmadis, Hazaras and Rohingyas? Ibrahamic religions are three – Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Why have you included Christianity and left the other two? Why have you excluded Sri Lankan Hindus and Bhutan’s Christians? This exclusionary, inclusionary hyphenation is beyond commonsense and logic. Why only religious persecution? Are people not persecuted for political reasons? Are people not persecuted on linguistic grounds? Are people not persecuted by unleashing internal wars against them? Why only religious persecution? Why not every kind of persecution? Does not the Bill violate the fundamental elements of Article 14 of the Constitution? It does not stand on the principle of equality before law. Any unreasonable or irrational classification cannot be made in the Bill. Arbitrariness is writ large on the face of this Bill. I dare the Government to lay the opinion of the Law Department; I dare the Government to invite the Attorney General to this House to answer our questions. A small part of the Constitution is sought to be wrecked and demolished by this insidious Bill. Fortunately, we are three organs of the State. The Executive is complicit; the Legislature is being invited to collaborate; hopefully, the Judiciary will strike it down and will save India. SHRI K. J. ALPHONS: I strongly support this Bill. Before, we gave refuse to people from all over the world who were persecuted. India has allowed them to thrive here. It has been a compassionate country. The crux of the Constitution, ultimately, is all about compassion. Our greatness depends on how we are able to look after the marginalized people, the deprived people, and the oppressed people. That is exactly what this Bill proposes to do. The minority population in Pakistan, which was earlier 23 per cent, has reduced to 2.3 per cent. Pakistan is governed by the Shariyat law. There were 3.9 million Christians in Pakistan. Today, we don’t know what the number is. Minorities are being butchered and killed. Shouldn’t India give heed to those people? We need to do that. We are setting right what was wrong in history. This country is looking after the minorities. Prime Minister has said to them, “You believe in whatever you want to believe and I 552 will ensure that you are allowed to live here peacefully and prosper. I will protect you”. This land has been a home to everybody, to the oppressed. Therefore, this Bill seeks to give refuge to the people who are persecuted. International convention says that whenever religious minorities are persecuted anywhere in the world, the world has a responsibility to give them a refuge and that is what this Bill does. SHRIMATI VIJILA SATHYANANTH: Our Party Supremo Amma had asserted that she would take continuous steps to attain a separate homeland for Tamils in Sri Lanka and had asked the Centre to grant dual citizenship to refugees on Sri Lankan Tamils living in the state. She always fought for enabling Sri Lankan Tamils to live with full freedom and self respect and also for attaining a separate Eelam. AIADMK's policy was that any repatriation would be voluntary and based on the choice of the refugees after the situation in Sri Lanka changes. The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court agreed that granting Citizenship was within the exclusive executive power of the Centre. As per records, 4,60,000 people have arrived in India and registered themselves as repatriated Indian citizens from Sri Lanka. These Tamil people have refugee cards in support of their status but now they are considered as Stateless Indian Origin Tamils from Sri Lanka. They have no state identification and they are considered as Sri Lankan citizens. They are treated as illegal migrants so their claim for Indian citizenship were refused on legal grounds. 90 per cent children of these refugees are born in India and most of these people are living in India for more than 25-30 years and 90 per cent of the population belongs to Hindu. These refugees fulfill all required criteria and also keeping in mind the status of being persons of Indian origin, these people may be given Indian Citizenship. SHRI SANJAY RAUT: It is being told that those who do not support the Bill are not patriot. We are the citizens of this country and the people of this country have voted us. We support the cause of Minorities living in India and in Pakistan. We are seeing that the people living in Assam, Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur are not supporting this Bill. This Bill is not based on religion, it is based on humanitarian ground. Whether it is sure that the intruders would be sent back after passing this Bill. It is obvious that when the refugees are being citizenship then the intruders should be sent back. There should 553 be no politics in accepting the refugees There are refugees from Jammu and Kashmir, they also should be rehabilitated there. They were hopeful after the removal of Article 370. SHRI SATISH CHANDRA MISRA: We oppose this Bill. It is a welcome step that we are giving the citizenship to all the minorities of neighboring countries except Muslims. But there is a dead line of 31st December, 2014. What is the reason to decide this date as deadline. According to the Preamble of the Constitution we are secular and we should not favour to anybody and everybody has to be treated equal. This Bill violates the Article 14, Article 15, Article 21. Word 'citizen' is used in article 15 whereas in article 14 and in article 21 word 'person' is used not the word 'citizen'. So by excluding Muslims there is violation of article 14. So my Party is not in support of this Bill. PROF. MANOJ KUMAR JHA: A State which persecutes does not always differentiate between A, B and C. In Germany when Jews were persecuted at that time those Germans were also persecuted who stood behind Jews. Atheists are also persecuted but there is no provision for these people. It is a bad law. Morally and constitutionally also it is very bad law. The Government says that NRC and CAB are different. But it is not correct. There were some problems in NRC which forced the Government to come with CAB. We have to spend Rs. 4 lakh 26 thousand crores to implement NRC all over the country. But if that much of amount is spent on education we can do excel. It is an appeal to the government to leave the Bill aside. SHRI : This bill has been brought in a haste. Assam and North Eastern States are not in favour of this bill. There should be some more discussion on this Bill. It was demanded that this Bill be referred to the Select Committee. This was enacted in 1955 and this was amended from time to time. In 1971 war people including Hindus came from Pakistan and Bangla Desh, they were given all the facilities. There is possibility to challenge this Bill In Assam in NRC 19 lakh people were left. The people living in the camps are facing a lot of problems. We should consider this. The Constitution has given us equality. At the time of partition, Hindu came from there and Muslims gone from here But in some cases Muslims also came from Pakistan. So this Bill should be referred to the

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Select Committee for reconsideration. We do not support this bill at all. SHRI HISHEY LACHUNGPA: The people of Sikkim were given citizenship in 1975 when Sikkim became the 22nd State of this Country. From the point of view of Sikkim we oppose the bill. The Home Minister assured that all the provisos of Article 371 will not be diluted by CAB. This is a welcome step. The CAB in its present form will go against the article 371(F). The rest of North eastern states have been exempted either by means of ILP System or as the Sixth Schedule area, while Sikkim stands unprotected. In Sikkim there is provision of RAP and ILP for foreigners and no foreigner can seek citizenship there. The ILP must be extended to Sikkim as well. Since it is also being extended to the State of Manipur, it should also not be difficult because we already have a framework in place. In this regard, I seek the assurance from the hon. Home Minister during the reply. SHRI ABDUL WAHAB: I stand to vehemently oppose this Bill. This Bill is fundamentally against the democratic ethos, constitutional values and against the idea of India. This Bill argues to give citizenship to all illegal immigrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh except Muslims. Any such move to legalize citizenship on the basis of religion is a sheer violation of constitutional values. It is a known fact that the Government, in the background of this Bill and proposed nationwide NRC, aims to dehumanize and convert millions of Indian Muslims into the condition of statelessness. This Bill has discriminated Tamil Muslims and Hindus in Sri Lanka. It is silent about the world's largest persecuted minorities, Rohingyan refugees in India. If the Government is thinking to deport the Muslims and other persecuted minorities who are currently residing in India, when there is a life threat to these minorities, it is against the principle of non refoulement. I urge upon the Government to withdraw this draconian legislation. MIR MOHAMMAD FAYAZ: I oppose this Bill. The Muslim community has been directly targeted by this Bill. No Muslims will come here from Pakistan, Afghanistan or Bangladesh. The Bill provides for citizenship of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, etc. communities. We support it, but by not including Muslims in this, injustice has been done to them. 555

SARDAR BALWINDER SINGH BHUNDER: People from minority communities who have been coming from these neighboring countries for 50 years were not given their right there, so I welcome this Bill because it has brought relief to those people. It is being said everywhere that there will be no discrimination against anyone and such a thing is not seen in this Bill. We have three suggestions. The first is that where 'communities' is written in this Bill, 'religion' should be written there. The second is that instead of 'minority religious communities', 'minorities from neighboring countries' should be written. The third suggestion is that clarification should be given regarding the last date of citizenship of people who are still coming from neighboring countries. SHRI : I oppose this Bill. It is a historic Bill because it is going to change the foundation of the Constitution and our history and going to destroy the future of our country. This Bill gives legal colour to the two nation theory. Religion cannot be a factor in the acquisition of citizenship. In this Bill, there is no provision for identification of persecution of a person coming from neighbouring countries. There is also no provision to discriminate between one illegal immigrant and another illegal immigrant. In this Bill, a particular community without naming it has been targeted. It will destabilise our polity and 18 to 20 million people will not trust us. It will weaken the foundation of our culture, beliefs and ethos. It will consequences that cannot be even imagined and this is part of political strategy of this Government. This Bill is legally tenable and morally reprehensible. Those who have no idea of India cannot protect the idea of India. MS. SAROJ PANDEY: I stand in support of this Bill. Today it is a historic day in the Parliament. Thousands of oppressed citizens of neighboring countries had taken shelter in this country with the hope that they would get security in this country but they were not given the right of citizenship. Their population in neighboring countries has been steadily decreasing, which is a sure proof that they have been deeply oppressed. Refugees have always been given protection in India. History has been a witness to it. Government of India is making all round development by protecting the culture of India along with the constitution of India. When at the time of partition of India, women had to face atrocities but no one dared to speak due to political reasons. 556

Today after many years, this Government has made a sincere effort that the citizen of India born on this earth, if he is Hindu, should be protected. That is why citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 has been brought on humanitarian ground. The Parliament gives this message to people that their interests are being protected. The people who have faced exploitation would get their self respect, facilities and rights back. It is the service to humanity to provide justice to oppressed ones. A person needs facilities, employment and respect to live anywhere which will be possible after the passing of this Bill. SHRI VAIKO: The Citizenship (amendment) Bill which is passed today in Parliament is undemocratic, unreasonable and unconstitutional and will become a black chapter in the annals of Rajya Sabha. This Bill singles out a community for hostile treatment and opens door for non- muslims from three nations i.e. Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. A Key argument against the CAB is that it will not extend to those persecuted in Myanmar and Sri Lanka from where Rohingya Muslims and Tamils are staying in the country as refugees. Further, it fails to allow Shia and Ahmadiyya Muslims, to apply for citizenship. This is an assault on equality, secularism and democracy. 1,047 scientists and scholars from India and abroad have condemned the Citizenship Amendment Bill, while also asking for its immediate withdrawal. So, it should be withdrawn. SHRI K.G. KENYE: While supporting the Bill it should be kept in mind that the people in North-East have no religions bias as they are not communal. The core issue of this Bill should be reconsidered. This Bill is about those illegal immigrants who have come to our region. It is feared that if centre does not take any action, it will be catastrophic situation which could not be reversed. We have two layers of immigrants. One is due to East India's political interest. Many labourers have migrated to this region. Second layer is the war of 1971 with Pakistan in which many soldiers were killed and many refugees migrated into our region. SHRI KANAKAMEDALA RAVINDRA KUMAR: On 26th September, 1947, Mahatma Gandhi openly promised and declared that the Hindus and Sikhs staying in Pakistan can come to India by all means, if they do not wish to continue there. Pandit Jawharlal Nehru gave an assurance in Parliament on 5th November, 1950. Likewise, 557

Shri Guljarilal Nanda made a statement on 5th March, 1954 in the Rajya Sabha. And, Shri Tarun Gogoi submitted a Memorandum demanding citizenship for Hindu migrants to Dr. . Similarly, on 6th December, 2007, the then External Affairs Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, on 6th May, 2010, the then External Affairs Minister, Shri S.M. Krishna, on 22nd March, 2012, the then Minister of State for External Affairs, Shri E. Ahmad made statements in favour of them. Similarly, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee passed a Resolution to support them. The citizens of India are now apprehending consequences of this Bill due to discrimination on two grounds – constitutional validity and legislative competency. The question to be answered by the hon. Home Minister is, whether this Bill gives any security to Muslims. And, Muslims should not be discriminated under the guise of the Citizenship Act. With these words, on the whole, I support this Bill. SHRI SANJAY SINGH: I am opposing this bill because it is against the constitution made by Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, it is against the preamble of the Constitution of India and also against the dreams of Mahatma Gandhi and Shahid-e-Azam Bhagat Singh for India. If you are worried about Hindus living in Gujranwala, then do worry and you should worry, but in your home state Gujarat, Hindus of Purvanchal were killed, beaten and banished from there and you did not say a word about them. First, you should explain the reason for it in this house. You will give citizenship to Hindus coming from Bangladesh, but what will you do to the lakhs of citizens of UP and Bihar living in Assam, whose citizenship has ended due to this NRC? In this bill, you have not said anything about it. You said that you want to implement NRC across the country and drive away intruders. After meeting with Sheikh Hasina, our Prime Minister had said that NRC will not affect Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, Foreign Minister, S. Jaishankar ji has said that NRC is our internal matter. It means that if you find intruders, then by making an intruder country inside India, you will make electricity free, water free, medical free, education free for those intruders. What do you want to do? The Hindu religion, which we believe in, speaks of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam'. We do not want to build India on the basis of discrimination and hatred with anyone. There have been so many meetings with the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Has the issue of atrocities of Hindu minorities ever been raised with them? The Aam 558

Aadmi Party is opposing this bill because it destroys the basic soul of the constitution of this country. SHRI BINOY VISWAM: From the Communist Party of India, I oppose this Bill. According to Guruji Golwalkar, the number one threat from inside the country is the Muslims. He says, “it has been the tragic lesson of the history of many a country in the world that the hostile elements within the country pose far greater menace to national security than aggressors from outside.” I request the hon. Minister to clarify whether he stands with that view or not. I may ask: What is the religion of the country of India? The country has no religion; people may have religion. Their faith may vary, but the country supports all of us. I fear this Bill will lead to the death of India. $SHRI RITABRATA BANERJEE: (Spoke in Bangla.) SHRI V. VIJAYASAI REDDY: This Bill is to give citizenship to those people who have come here as victims of persecution. However, any move to encourage influx with ulterior motives which could be a threat to the national security cannot be tolerated at any cost. The Bill indicates that the special provision was needed due to the theological neighbouring nations. However, the minorities among the Islamic faith are persecuted in their countries. There are minorities among the minorities like Bohra Muslims and Ahmadiyyas who are also being persecuted there, and if they seek asylum, the Government should positively consider their request. Clause 3A delegates the entire function of framing the parameters to the Government for considering the applications for registration. It would be better if the Act lays down the rules and broad policy insofar as framing of rules is concerned. And, the Third Schedule is being amended reducing the tenure of stay from eleven years to five years. But, stringent rules of evidence and proof must be in place. As per the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, every developing or developed country should share certain responsibilities in providing shelter to migrants. But, it is very unfortunate that the Congress Party doesn't want to understand the plight of minority migrants. It is ironical that the Congress is talking about values in politics. The entire politics of ______$ Synopsis of speech delivered by hon’ble Member in Bangla will be published separately as supplement. 559

Congress has been based on appeasement. For example, when Rajiv Gandhiji turned down the decision taken by the Supreme Court in the Shah Bano case, injustice was done by the Congress Party towards Muslim women. Therefore, we support the Bill. SHRI D. KUPENDRA REDDY: This Bill divides people on the basis of religion. It targets mainly the Muslim brethren of our country as they have been left out in the proposed amendments. It is a violation of article 14 of the Constitution of India. Further, thousands of Sri Lankan people belonging to different communities entering into the country as refugees have also been left out in the proposed Amendment Bill. This would also be a deviation from and dilution of the policy of secularism of our country. Therefore, I strongly oppose the Bill and urge the Government to refer this Bill to a Select Committee for scrutiny. @DR. SASMIT PATRA: (Spoke in Odiya.) #SHRI RIPUN BORA: (Also Spoke in Assamese.) DR. SUBRAMANIAN SWAMY: I think the Congress Party seems to be confused between this Amendment Bill and the NRC. Those few, who have argued against this Amendment Bill, have, in fact, misled the House in some ways. The whole Amendment, that has been brought, is to bring this consideration that a fairly large number of people are running away from Pakistan and they are the Hindus, the Sikhs, the Buddhists, the Christians and the Parsis. If you look at the percentage of population of Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians and Parsis in the 1952 figures of Pakistan and today, there has been a very sharp decline in all these various religious groups. We have seen newspaper items about great deal of genocidal action in Pakistan against these people. Same thing is there in Bangladesh. There are daily occurrences against the Hindus there. In Afghanistan, one hardly needs to say what the Taliban has been doing. So, this Bill is most appropriate. On 25th November, 1947, the Congress Working ______@ Synopsis of speech delivered by hon’ble Member in Odiya will be published separately as supplement. # Synopsis of speech delivered by hon’ble Member in Assamese will be published separately as supplement. 560

Committee met and passed a resolution urging citizenship for the refugees of Pakistan and said, “The Congress is bound to afford full protection for all those non-Muslims from Pakistan who have crossed the border and come over to India, or may do so, to save their life and honour. Now, they are saying, “You can’t do this.” In Rajya Sabha, Dr. Manmohan Singhji said "the minorities in countries like Bangladesh, have faced persecution, and it is our moral obligation that if circumstances force people, these unfortunate people, to seek refuge in our country, our approach to granting citizenship to these unfortunate persons should be more liberal.” Then, the Chief Minister of Assam, Mr. Tarun Gogoi had submitted a memorandum to the then Prime Minister pleading that Indian citizens who had to flee due to discrimination and religious persecution at the time of partition, should not be treated as foreigners and given citizenship. So all we can say is that the BJP Government has acted instead of giving speeches and passing Resolutions. Article 14 does not bar this particular amendment. In Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, these groups, who have been identified, have been singled out for ill-treatment and oppression. As far as the Ahmadiyyas or the Shias are concerned, they would prefer any day going to Iran, which is a Shia country, or, to Bahrain, where the Ahmadiyyas are accepted as Muslims. Both of these communities declare themselves as Muslims. They do not say that they are distinct religious groups. It is the Wahhabi group in Pakistan, which says that these communities are not Muslims. But, the world in general, accepts them as Muslims. So, they cannot come into this category because these countries are Darul Islam. They have a religious constitution where Islam has been accepted as the State religion. Therefore, to bring that in the Bill, is rubbish. I do not think a Pakistani Muslim wants to leave his nation and come to our country. Finally, I would say that Sri Lankan Tamils did not come to our country because of religious persecution. Because in the Tamil areas of Sri Lanka, there was a full-fledged war, they came here. After that, after our Government came, they have all been regularly going back. Therefore, I would say that this Bill is something which we need to protect ourselves. SHRI RONALD SAPA TLAU: I am happy because the Government has made two changes in this Bill as compared to the previous proposal. One is that they have exempted the tribal areas as well as the ILP States. Further, I would like to remind the Government 561 that the Chakma people, Buddhist Chakmas from Bangladesh came to India because of the construction of Kaptai Dam in the sixties. Over a lakh of them came to North East, half of them settled in Mizoram and the rest settled in Arunachal Pradesh. You are talking about protecting the minorities of all these religions, including the Christians whereas you see a lot of religious hate crimes in the last few years. India ranks 15th in the world in terms of dangers for the Christians. India has become home for Christian persecutions as well as other minorities' persecution. Now, you are introducing a Bill to protect the Christians and other communities. If you are serious, then, I should witness an end to all these persecutions in India. In the North-East, they see this Bill as a ploy to assimilate indigenous people in the North-East. They also see this as a ploy to promote your Hindutva ideology. Christian church is very strong in my home State of Mizoram. Any move to change their comfort zone will mean that a very grave result will come up. Today, The entire North-East is burning. In fact, one of the allies of the BJP, the NPP, has very strongly objected to this Bill. The North-East people are objecting to this idea of CAB vehemently due to Hindutva, Common Civil Code and lynching. Today, to remain in India, the Christians have a strong feeling that they should have full freedom as enshrined in the Constitution. They should be able to freely worship their religion, have freedom to eat whatever food they want, maintain their language, dialect and their own tribal identity, cultural ethos and mores. This Government may be emboldened by the numbers. If you impose this thing on us, it would be hanging like the sword of Damocles over our head. Therefore, we have to object to it. DR. VINAY P. SAHASRABUDDHE: The work that should have been done decades ago, is going to be done by this august House of the today. Through this Bill, this decades old problem is being discussed in this House today. In 1931, the Census Commissioner of Assam, Sir C.S. Mullan warned that if this influx of people from Bengal continued, the Assamese people would be in the minority in Assam, but it was ignored. After the country became independent, Mohammed Sadullah made an attempt to send many people to Assam in the name of 'Grow more food' from East Bengal, which also accelerated the process of changing the demography of Assam. The voter list was renewed in 1978 when the government of Shri was at the Centre. At that time, the number of 562

Bengali intruders was very large in a small area like Mangaldoi in Assam. As a result, a big movement was launched all over Assam. Despite this movement, the government of Smt. enacted the IMDT Act in this country in 1983. But there was an anomaly in this Act, because if any complainant informed the police to investigate that such-and-such person is a foreigner, the police used to tell that complainant to prove that the person is a foreigner. There was such a huge anomaly within that law, despite that it was implemented. In 1985, Shri Rajiv Gandhi signed the Assam Accord, but there was no talk of removing this an anomaly. In the year 2005, when Shri Sarbananda Sonowal moved the Supreme Court, the court said that this law was illegal and unconstitutional. This Act has created the biggest hurdle in the identification and deportation of illegal immigrants. You people made mistakes and Assam had to suffer it. In 2012, the government said in an affidavit that the Government of India does not support any kind of illegal migrants in its territory and is committed to deporting illegal Bangladeshi immigrants but only lawfully. Today we are going to do the same. We are endeavouring to prove such people illegal immigrants on the basis of law. So, I believe that this is a historical law. Kajiranga region was dominated by infiltrators. The BJP government at centre and in the State of Assam took appropriate steps. There were over half a dozen village set up by infiltrators. Even the Majuli island located on Brahmaputra river had Bangladeshi infiltrators and no native people were found on that island. In past, the construction of barbed wire fencing on border areas was initiated during the regime of Shri ji. Hon'ble Home Minister made a valid reference to persecuted minorities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Constitutionally, these countries are already Islamic Republics and it would be a misnomer and insult to them if someone here claims that Muslims are persecuted there. On this, the terms like Islamophobia and discrimination were used by critics from opposition. However, the allegations of discrimination against Muslims by the government is unfounded. As a matter of fact, Muslims are not terrified of our party or Government. Rather, they have no faith in you. Because, you have always used them through vote bank politics. They are patriot Indians and believe in development. You make an unwarranted hue and cry. While, the Muslim people showed their wisdom and never objected against abrogation of Article 370, discontinuation of Triple Talaq, or 563 verdict on Ram Mandir. The game to play with their emotions must be stopped. And, the opposition must develop some degree of tolerance. I wish to share my experience about communal riots breaking out in Bhiwandi, my hometown, where one police inspector, Mr Sharma used brutal force against RSS and Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists. In 1982, there was no BJP or Shiv Sena in reckoning. The complaint about police atrocities was brought before city Congress President and was appreciate of our grievance. However, he expressed his helplessness and advised us to use pamphlets and posters depicting Mr Sharma as the saviour of Hindus. Ironically, that trick worked and Inspector Sharma was transferred. Your politics is based on creating a divide between Hindus and Muslims. Under an agreement between Liaquat Ali and Jawaharlal Nehru, the promises made by Pakistan were never honoured and Hindus were persecuted. They must get a refuge. In his historical speech, Nehru ji referred about making a tryst with destiny. Today, by passing this Bill, we are making a tryst with humanity and the entire House should support this Bill. SHRIMATI WANSUK SYIEM: I strongly oppose this Bill as it will spread a sense of fear, hatred and insurgency among the communities. So far, Meghalaya has not imposed any such entry restrictions as a gesture of generosity and trust in those entering Meghalaya. My state has already been battered by illegal infiltration. Something like Inner Line Permit must be introduced within the ambit of Sixth Schedule. Students' Organisation have opposed the Centre's attempt to divide the citizens on religious grounds. We will fight to preserve our indigenous ethnic tribal identity at all costs and sacrifice. SHRI BHUPENDER YADAV: I support the Citizenship Amendment Bill. On September 11, 1893, Swami Vivekananda ji said in his speech, "I am proud that I am from that country, who gave shelter to the troubled and persecuted people of all countries and religions." Today, the shelter is being given the citizens of three countries. But the Congress and the opposition parties are protesting. We have given freedom of expression, belief, faith, and methods of worship in our constitution. This dignified life is also needed by the people belonging to the Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist, Jain and Christian communities belonging to the minority communities of three neighboring countries, 564 who have been living in the country for a long time. Regarding atrocities on minorities in neighboring countries, on December 7, 2005, the then Union Home Minister, Mr. E. Ahamed ji, citing the report of the Pakistan Human Rights Commission, said that violence against Hindus was taking place in Pakistan. On 27th February 2007, the then Minister of Home Affairs, Shri Sriprakash Jaiswal, said that in large numbers, Pakistani Hindus coming to India. In 2011, the Minister of External Affairs, Smt. Parneet Kaur assure the House that Government was concerned about atrocities on Hindus. In 2014, the UPA government officially stated that in 2013 the 1,11,754 Pakistani nationals came with visas. However, on the basis of religion, such a large number of Hindus and Sikhs are staying in India even after the expiry of their visa period. But even after knowing such compulsions, you did not take any action. You are talking about asking for papers. You are questioning their legality. This bill has a background. The country was divided on religious grounds. During the time of your government, facts were tabled in the House or these subjects were raised continuously. No one denies that minorities have been persecuted constantly in the neighboring countries. Today people of Congress are opposing, today people of Communist Party are also opposing and today people of Samajwadi Party are also opposing. Communist Party leader ji wrote a letter on 3 June 2012. In that letter, he said that all the people from Bangladesh should get citizenship. But these letters and statements were given when the election was near. We want to do politics not of elections but to give respect to the citizens of the country. This bill will bring a golden dawn to millions of people. Today I can proudly say that the Congress Party has ignored the immense pain of such oppressed people for decades. But today, the country's government and the Prime Minister have not only heard the pain of such people, but have taken a decisive step to alleviate the sufferings. Article 11 of the Constitution of our country empowers Parliament to make laws regarding citizenship. In 1955, we had brought this law on citizenship, we have amended it nine times. This matter has been discussed on the basis of religion in the time of the UPA Government and in the time of our Government. The Equality as well as classification has been recognized under Article 14. It is the right of the government of the country to classify if it can ensure a life of equality and take an action in lines with the values of a welfare state. 565

We have a classification of OBCs here. That too is on the basis of class. The reservation for Muslims in OBC is also a classification based on class and religion. The spirit of the constitution means that the state can take affirmative action for those who are deprived and suffering. Therefore, this law has been brought in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution. A kind of fear is being created here that there will be a huge flood of population in the North-East or everywhere in the country. But at this time, there is a system in the country. It is necessary to regularize the people belonging to the minority community in the country. The Government has taken care of the sentiments of the states of Northeast including Assam while framing this entire law. The government has taken note of the cultural values of India, which Swami Vivekananda mentioned in America. You kept raising questions in Parliament from 2003 to 2014 at least twenty times but did not solve the problem. In this government, the Honorable Home Minister has done the work of bringing a new dawn for the suffering people. Many decisions have been taken for the country. You did not introduce the money laundering law for 70 years. GST was an issue in this country for 15 years. You continued a provisional law of Article 370 in this country. You could not make it a permanent one. The greatest need for this country is political will. We have already read about the three powers i.e. Muscle power, will power and soul power. But there is another power called political will power. Only the strong will power enables us to take decisions. Every law should be compatible with the basic spirit of the Constitution of India. All religions in our country have been given the opportunity to practice and develop spiritually. In our country, we have seen everyone with equality. But if the politics of the country is to change, then I want to at least tell the Congress and the opposition people not to try to appease and do the vote bank politics. You have to awaken the conscience to help the victim. I would also like to say that this conscience is necessary for the humanity and protection of democracy in the country. When we acknowledge minority interests in our constitution, we appreciate the human sensitivity towards protecting the interests of the religious minority communities that come under our shelter. The basic spirit of the citizenship amendment is about the minority community suffering from this religious discrimination. This classification is compatible with Article 14 of the country's constitution. This is compatible with the dignified life assured to the 566 people of the country under Article 21 of the Constitution. This will create the image of India as a humanitarian country. We hope that the Congress and other opposition parties do not violate human rights at least by indulging into vote bank politics. SHRI K.K. RAGESH: I stand to oppose this Bill as it is unconstitutional, against the basic tenets of our Constitution and is violation of the Assam Accord. If that is the case, what happened to Rohingya Muslims who were persecuted in Myanmar? What happened to Ahmadi Muslims and Shias discriminated in Pakistan? And, what happened to Tamils who have been discriminated in Sri Lanka? The real agenda is the fascist Hindu Rashtra. They are coming with such a hidden agenda attitude. The concept of Nationalism proclaimed by Shri Golwalkar is not there in our Constitution. But, unfortunately, the hon. Minister and the Government are thinking that his bunch of thoughts is the Constitution of India. You are trying to divide the people on communal lines for the petty Hindutva politics and Hindutva agenda. The Government wants to divert attention of the people from serious issues. The economic crisis is there. The public sector industries are being sold to corporate houses. The Tughalakian demonitisation has devastated our economy I condemn this Bill and request the Government to withdraw this Bill. SHRI NARAYAN LAL PANCHARIYA: I support this historic bill. Today, through this bill, we are working hard to give back citizenship to crores of people living in the country who have come to India after persecution and abandoning everything they had in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. . All members agree that whether there are minorities inside this country or minorities living in any corner of the world, they should not be tortured or unjust, they should be protected. They were massacred by minorities in Pakistan after partition. Millions of people came here as refugees and all of them were given citizenship. Why is the protest today? We have had many opportunities to visit the camps and settlements of people who have come from Pakistan. They told us their agony that their sisters and daughters were not safe there, their business was not safe there, their property was not safe there either. So they used to be worried there. So today we have to consider whether we should give them citizenship or not. After the 1947, the oppressed minorities having settled here from 567

Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are living a very hellish life. An excellent work has been done by bringing such a bill. In the year 2014, it was announced that Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Jains, who settled here after being tortured from their country, will be given citizenship either inside Barmer district or anywhere within this country. This was stated by the Prime Minister in the year 2014 and it was also there in our manifesto. The Bill was continuously discussed from 2016 to 2019. More than 9,000 memoranda were received in this regard. The Bill was again introduced in the Lok Sabha in January 2019. The main opposition parties are talking about postponing the bill. The state of Rajasthan has a 1,170 km long border with Pakistan. The Thar Express runs from Munabao Railway Station in Barmer, the border district of our Rajasthan. Nowadays, this train departs from our Jodhpur and reaches Karachi in Pakistan. A large number of Persecuted people from Pakistan, including their families are now living in Rajasthan. Their settlements lack electricity, water, education and medical care. Millions of such people are living hellish lives inside this country. To actually fix the situation of such families, the Honorable Home Minister has brought the Bill. Our Prime Minister had urged all the MPs to celebrate our Diwali with the soldiers in border area or by going to the very backward habitations in our region. When we reached there with my family and the family of my party, I saw the situation there which was very pathetic. When our women went into their house, we saw a woman crying in the house. He told that his child was born before normal time in Pakistan. Sir, see the extremity of the atrocity that the 4- day-old child was snatched away from the wailing mother and her family. This type of tyranny and injustice is happening there. I think this is a very good Bill. Therefore, we support it. LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION (SHRI ): Honorable Chairman, our 5-6 colleagues gave very good speeches, i.e. ji, P. Chidambaram ji, Kapil Sibal ji, Ripun Bora ji, Ronald ji and Wansuke Ji. I want clarification on 5-6 points from the hon'ble Home Minister. I want to know the reasons behind giving place to selected countries and selected religions in this Bill. He said that religion of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan is Islam. I want to say that the religion of Bhutan and Sri Lanka is not Islam but they are also based on religion. He called Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, three countries as neighbouring countries. 568

But Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Myanmar and Nepal are also our neighbours, why they have not been mentioned. Isn't this the problem with Sri Lankan Hindu minorities. Why they have not been mentioned. Why were the Christians of Bhutan not added to it. Why Indian Muslims living in Myanmar have not been included. The Ministry of Home Affairs says that they do not have any authentic record about their number. But the hon'ble Home Minister is counting it in crores. Only four-four and a quarter thousand people belonging to these three countries, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, have applied for citizenship. You are telling the country that crores of people are being persecuted. If everyone likes this Bill, then what are the reasons for army flag march in Dibrugarh in Assam, lathi charge, firing and using tear gas and rubber bullets on protesters. This is a matter of great concern. Hon'ble Home Minister, you did demonetisation, brought GST, brought Triple Talaq Bill, brought NRC and brought the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. You bring such Bills to divert attention of the people from joblessness and unemployment, from farmers' problems and from inflation. THE MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE, THE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE MINISTER OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD): This is a very important Bill. Regarding the vetting of the Bill by the Law Department, I want to say that all the Bills of our Government are brought only after being vetted by the Department of law. Article 246 of the Constitution clearly states that this House can make laws on all subjects enlisted under List-I of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. In the Bill that the Government has brought today, it has been said that people belonging five-six types of faith, who are being persecuted there, will be awarded citizenship in India. For this, exemption will be provided in the Passport Act. They will not be considered illegal immigrants and we have also fixed the date of 2014. This is a reasonable group. I will say one more thing which the court has said that if anything is arbitrary, then it is also a violation of Article 14. But there is nothing arbitrary in it. It is also the responsibility of the Government in Article 25 to provide such people the opportunity of freedom to practice religion. Today, we are providing them an opportunity to lead a respectable life, a place to live and are awarding them citizenship. Thus, we are 569 fulfilling the mandate of Article 21. We are not violating it. We are proud of our Prime Minister that he has honoured us by abrogating Article 370. Both Houses of Parliament are sovereign in making laws. In this Parliament we have full respect for the judiciary, but this Parliament has the right to undo the decision of the court. Our entire law is constitutional. If anyone challenges, an effective argument will be placed by the Government. I believe that the law which is supposed to be discussed today and passed by this House is constitutional, valid and in national interest and also sub-serves a larger humanitarian order. THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI AMIT SHAH), replying to the debate, said: 44 Members of Parliaments have put their views on this important Bill. All the Members have expressed some suggestions, some objections, some questions, some support in this House according to their views. Some Members also raised the question of what was the need to bring this Bill. This Bill has to be brought to address the circumstances that arose after the partition of the country. Had any Government found a solution before this, I would not have to bring this Bill today. Today I want to make it clear to the people of the country that the Narendra Modi Government has not just come to run the Government, but to improve the country, to solve the country's problems. Its purpose is not to take any political advantage. Had this Bill been introduced fifty years ago, the situation would not have deteriorated so much today. The country was divided on the basis of religion and this was the biggest mistake. Due to this mistake, I have appeared here today with this Bill. The Nehru-Liaquat Ali agreement was signed in Delhi on 8 April 1950, which is also known as the Delhi Agreement. In this agreement, both countries promised each other that members of the minority community living in their own country would be assured the freedom to follow their religions in their country and the freedom of occupation, expression and worship. I had also told in the Lok Sabha yesterday that their number came down from 23 percent to 3 percent, from 22 percent to 7 percent. But here muslims also became Chief Justice of India, Chairman of this House, Chief Election Commissioner, President/Vice President. Minorities were protected and promoted here. India kept the promise, but our three neighbouring countries did not keep their promises. They came to this country to save their religion, honour, families and the honour of the women of the families. Through this, we 570 will award them citizenship. After the enactment of this law, when we will say that you will be awarded citizenship from that particular day and we will protect all your belongings, they will fearlessly say that yes, we are refugees, give us citizenship. Then the number of becoming citizens will increase. We have brought the provision of awarding them citizenship with retrospective effect. Regarding the selection of countries, it is to be said that today we have brought this Bill to address the problem of only the religious minority of these three countries adjacent to India's land borders, who have come as refugees. So these three countries are mentioned in it. It is the responsibility of Governments only. We are fulfilling that obligation. I want to say that Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan are adjacent to the geographical boundary of our country. The India-Pakistan border is 3,323 kilometers, the India-Bangladesh border is 4,096 kilometers and the Indo- Afghanistan border is 130 kilometers long. But they are Islamic states in a way. Regarding not including a muslim in this Bill, I want to tell you that this Bill will provide refuge to the minorities who have suffered religious persecution in these three countries, leaving all the documents regarding their past days which are not there with them, it will award citizenship to them. The religion of those countries is Islam and muslims are not a minority there. If still someone has to apply for citizenship, then there is a provision in the law to do so and we are awarding citizenship to them. Under Modi ji's rule, we have given citizenship to more than 566 muslim citizens of these three countries in 5 years. Generally, in islamic countries, there is no possibility of religious persecution against the followers of Islam. Therefore, only Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians have been included in it. We are not awarding it to any one religion. We are taking the minorities of these three countries and are taking all the minorities. We are taking a class that has fallen victims of religious persecution. Therefore, I have brought this Bill under the right of this Parliament to legislate on the basis of reasonable classification. An intelligible differentia has been done in it, behind which there is also a Criteria. Nowhere does this Bill violate Article 14 and all other Articles on the basis of intelligible differentia and reasonable classification. In this law both the requirements are satisfied. I am confident that this law will also be found valid in court. We have been saying since 1950 that there should not be Article 370. We have been saying from the 571 beginning that Citizenship Amendment Bill should be brought, we do not have any confusion in it. The UPA government has given concessions twice and among the 13 thousand people who have been awarded concessions, people of only two religions Hindus and Sikhs are there. 13 thousand people of two religions became citizens. But that will not be seen, because what the Congress will do is all secularism. There is no objection to that. Everyone should have faith in the home minister of this country. The Minority has no reason to worry. This bill is not going to harm any minority living in India and especially Muslim siblings, there is no question of taking away citizenship through this Bill. India has honoured the Muslims of India. Through this bill, provision has been made to give citizenship to all victims. A resolution of the Congress Party of November 25, 1947 should be referred but you do not even accept this resolution of the Congress Party. Mahatma Gandhi is respected by all the citizen of the country. If they do not want to stay there, they undoubtedly can come to India and the responsibility of the Government of India is to accept them. The first duty of the Government of India is not only to accept them, but also to give them employment, franchise, and make their lives happy. After the partition of our country, the treatment given to refugees needs to be mentioned. Minorities are facing oppression in countries like Bangladesh. We have a moral obligation to grant citizenship to these unfortunate people. The way of thinking changes as the bench changes. This is a very serious matter. Neighboring countries did not apply the spirit of Nehru-Liaquat agreement. I have not misled the House. We are also worried about the Partition. The whole country knows that Jinnah was the reason for partition. It is clear that the division of this country on the basis of religion is due to the Congress party. Zoroastrians and Jews came here from there undergoing religious persecution, we made them citizens. A cut-off date has been placed under this bill from the provision of 11 and 1. It is being misrepresented that Durga immersion and Saraswati Puja are banned inside Bengal. India is a democratic country. The democratic process has never been stopped here. Why three countries have been named this is also being questioned. Hindus, Sikhs and Parsis are minorities so they have been selected. Whenever there was a change in the citizenship under the Congress regime, they were due to a problem. It has been said how this bill will prove that religious 572 persecution has taken place. Every time the Government of India has addressed a problem. Around 8-9 lakh Tamil refugees were granted citizenship. Hence this discrimination has not happened with Tamil Nadu. Rohingya do not come directly into our country. People should not change approach for power. This bill was supported by the Shiv Sena in the Lok Sabha yesterday. We brought this bill in 2015, even then its provision was the same. Muslims are also taken care of. Surely history will decide why these people were left to the mercy of God for 70 years. The Prime Minister has written history in golden letters by giving justice to Minorities. Narendra Modi never did anything for vote bank politics. The Bill does not in any way weaken the 371F. If Kapil Sibal ji has not said so, then my answer should not remain on record, but if he has said, then my answer must definitely remain on record. There are more than 21 thousand Sikhs living in Delhi. The greed of the vote bank has not closed our eyes and ears. You are wrong to say that the rights of Muslims will be taken away by this Bill. Nobody is taking away their citizenship. It is a bill to give citizenship, not a bill to take citizenship. I say to the minorities, do not get into propaganda. This bill will not affect the citizenship of the Muslims of India. Those who are citizens of India will not be affected by this bill in any way. There is no proposal to take citizenship of anyone within the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis who are a persecuted minority have been proposed to be given citizenship. The idea of India is known to me. It is the primary responsibility and commitment of the Narendra Modi government that every citizen of the country gets his rights. The Narendra Modi government has only one religion which is the constitution of this country. Which never allows this country to become Muslim free. Many members raised the subject of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees. Citizenship has been given to Sri Lankan citizens by all parties of the Government of India from time to time. There is no question of thinking of injustice with anyone. When we take a problem, we try to solve it completely. Both of these passport acts have been changed in 2015 and 2016 itself. Neither the CAB, nor Article 370, nor the triple talaq is anti-Muslim. It is a bill giving rights to crores of Muslim sisters in the country. Apart from Hindus, minorities also live in Kashmir. Even after the removal of Article 370, there is still peace in Kashmir and all Muslims are living in peace. Both members of Assam have expressed their concerns. Clause 6 573 seeks concerns for the minimum reservation for them. Clause 6 was never given actual shape. Clause 6 was given only on paper to the people of Assam. We will follow the Assam Accord in full. All the brothers and sisters of Assam are assured that we will worry about their language, literature and dialect. The purpose behind telling some things is that this House and the people of the country should come to know some reality. We are hoping to live with honour, that is why this bill is being passed. In Refugee camps, the biggest problem for Refugees is to give their identity. We are considered to be Pakistani here so we hide our identity. With the coming of this Bill, we will say with respect that we are citizens of India. To honour all of them, the government has brought the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. The "Nikhil Bang Citizens Association" also said that we were tortured there. It is very easy to ask the technical figure here. Many things were questioned. The statements of Congress leaders and the statements of leaders of Pakistan often get mixed up. Why did the Congress party oppose the Enemy Property Bill? The atrocities committed on minorities within these three countries are necessary to be mentioned. Sikh and Hindu girls were kidnapped and forcibly converted inside Pakistan. The 2014 report of the UNHRC stated that only 20 out of 428 Hindu places of worship remain intact there. In the year 1947 there were 23 percent religious minorities which has now reduced to 3.7 percent. When Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's was there in Bangladesh, everything went well. As soon as Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Government lost power, there were atrocities on religious minorities. Many Bangladeshi Hindus had to come here for shelter. Kaivalyadham in Chitgong was attacked in October 1990, in which 300 houses were set on fire. Once 200 Hindu women were gang raped there. The present government is concerned about religious minorities there. But there was a time when these people were tortured very much there. There were two lakh Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan before 1992. According to a report of the United Nations of 2018, now there are only 500 Sikh and Hindu families left there. There have also been many atrocities on Christians within Pakistan. They are considered untouchable community there. Their life has become very pathetic. They have been forced to live in slums in a state of extreme poverty. The Bill that the Government has brought is not meant to hurt anyone's feelings. It is not meant to make people of any religion or community miserable. There 574 will be no injustice to the minorities and Muslims of this country. We have not done injustice to the followers of any religion anywhere in our country. It has been a proud history of our country. The present Government will also maintain this belief. Every country has made its own laws. We are also making our law. Not everyone can get citizenship here. We have brought this Bill for a special category. I request all of you to support this Bill. The amendment moved by Shri K.K. Ragesh, Shri Husain Dalwai, Shri Binoy Viswam and Shri Elamaram Kareem for reference of the Bill to a Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha was negatived.

The motion for consideration of the Bill was adopted. Clauses etc., were adopted. The Bill, was passed.

Desh Deepak Verma, Secretary-General. [email protected]

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ERRATA TO THE SUPPLEMENT TO SYNOPSIS OF DEBATE DATED 10th DECEMBER, 2019 AND SYNOPSIS OF DEBATE DATED 11th DECEMBER, 2019

Page No. Line No. Correction

534 33-34 Delete 'License work .... state government' after 'government.'.

542 10 Read 'an' for 'and'.

545 22 Read 'for' for 'of'.

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