Akshay Kumar acceptable, but not Katrina is what Citizenship (Amendment) Bill does: Sanjay Nirupam

Congress party leader Sanjay Nirupam on Monday, while commenting on the opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, gave examples of actors Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif to explain the "discrimination" being done in the Bill.

"The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is nothing but a register of the citizens of India... However, as far as the CAB (Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is concerned, citizens all across the country have objection over it," Nirupam told ANI here.

"My friend Akshay Kumar is a Canadian citizen and you are having the provision for him to get citizenship. On the other hand, actor Katrina Kaif is a British citizen and she will be turned away. This discrimination is what has worried many people," he said.

"Akshay Kumar is acceptable and Katrina is not. This thinking is being condemned. The government should seriously think over these aspects. Katrina Kaif is just an example. There are so many such people who are contributing immensely to the country. Discrimination on the basis of religion will not be tolerated," he added.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

The Lok Sabha on Monday took up the Bill over which the discussion is currently underway.

Through this Bill, Indian citizenship will be provided to the members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from the three countries to India till December 31, 2014, to put an end to them being treated as illegal immigrants in the country.