Citizenship Amendment Bill to be introduced in Rajya Sabha today
The contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill is set to be introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. The bill piloted by Union Home Minister Amit Shah was comfortably passed in the Lok Sabha on late Monday night as the ruling BJP enjoys a clear majority in the house. According to sources, the legislation will also sail through the Rajya Sabha as the ruling NDA has the numbers.
If the calculations of the BJP's floor managers are to be believed, the effective strength of the Rajya Sabha is 238. The NDA's current strength is 105 in the House, including 83 members of the BJP, six of Janata Dal (U), three of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), one each from LJP and RPI(A) and 11 nominated MPs.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is also in talks with the AIADMK, which has 11 members, the BJD with seven members, YSRCP with two members and TDP with two members.
The saffron party, meanwhile, is confident of their support as all these parties had backed the bill in Lok Sabha.
With the support of these 22 members, the BJP-led NDA will have the support of 127 members in the House which is above the majority mark of 120.
Sources in the BJP-led NDA said they were sure of getting near 124-130 votes in the Upper House which has an effective strength of 240 members.
Opposition ranks have been boosted by the decision of the six-member Telangana Rashtra Samithi, which has often backed the Modi government on its key legislative agenda, to oppose the bill.
Longtime BJP ally Shiv Sena, now a partner in the Congress-NCP alliance, also indicated on Tuesday it may not support the bill now after backing it in Lok Sabha.
The Maharashtra party with a history of pursuing strident Hindutva agenda has three members in Rajya Sabha.
The opposition camp includes Congress, TMC, BSP, Samajwadi Party, DMK, RJD, the Left, NCP and the TRS with 46, 13, four, nine, five, four, six, four and six members respectively, totalling 97.
The support of Shiv Sena, Aam Aadmi Party and some smaller parties may take it near 110.
Some members, like the ailing Amar Singh, may not attend the House for health or other personal reasons.
On Monday, Lok Sabha passed the bill, which seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan if they fled their native country due to religious persecution.
According to the proposed legislation, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, till December 31, 2014, after facing religious persecution there, will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.
Though the opposition has slammed the bill, alleging it is discriminatory against Muslims and violates the Constitution, Home Minister Amit Shah has asserted that people belonging to any religion should not have any fear under the Modi government.
The proposed law will give relief to those minorities who have been living a painful life after facing persecution in neighbouring countries, he said.
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