NEW DELHI: A US federal commission on international religious freedom has said that India’s Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) is a “dangerous turn in wrong direction” and sought American sanctions against home minister Amit Shah if the bill is passed by both houses of Parliament.
The Lok Sabha late on Monday passed the CAB that proposes giving Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, who fled religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, and came to India on or before 31 December, 2014. Three hundred and eleven members in the 545-member Lok Sabha voted in favour of the Bill, while 80 opposed it. It will now be tabled in the Rajya Sabha for approval.
In a statement issued on Monday, the US Commission for International Religious Freedom or USCIRF said it was deeply troubled over the passage of the bill in Lok Sabha.
Prasanta Patnaik