Citizenship Amendment Bill brought to advance Hindutva agenda, will be struck down in court, says Chidambaram

The central government was ramming through the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill to advance its Hindutva agenda, said senior Congress leader P Chidambaram in Rajya Sabha.

Saying that the Citizenship Amendment Bill is “insidious”, Chidambaram asserted that this Bill violates Article 14 of the Constitution.

“Indian Citizenship has been based on birth and descent as per the Constitution. This (CAB) Bill is introducing an arbitrary concept of citizenship through executive fiat,” Chidambaram said in the Upper House while taking part in the debate.

Stating that the Bill violates Article 14 of the Constitution on three grounds—unequal treatment, illegal classification and arbitrariness writ large, the former home minister said that the Bill will be challenged in the court.

“It is very clear that the Bill is unconstitutional and will be struck down,” he asserted.

Asking why only religious persecution is covered and not the persecution on the grounds of politics and linguistic reasons, Chidambaram dared Attorney General to tell Rajya Sabha as who gave legal opinion to the government on this issue.

“What is the reason for excluding Sri Lankan Hindus and Bhutanese Christians?” asked Chidambaram.