CAB in RS today, Digvijaya says 'walk out would be easiest way to support Modi-Shah'

As the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 will be tabled in Rajya Sabha today, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said that staging a walk out of the house would be the easiest way to support the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.

"Today Rajya Sabha is discussing CAB. It would be interesting to see how parties who claim to oppose BJP/RSS Ideology vote. Walk Out would be the easiest way to support Modi Shah," tweeted by Singh, a Rajya Sabha lawmaker, on Wednesday.

The Congress leader urged Bihar Chief Minister and JDU president Nitish Kumar and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) to reconsider their support to the Bill, which was passed by Lok Sabha earlier this week.

"Nitish ji, Ram Vilas ji if you believe in the principles of Ram Manohar Lohia ji then please think. The time has come," Singh tweeted in Hindi.

The Bill, which seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Zorastrian communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh and entered India on and before December 31, 2014, will be tabled in the Upper House at 2 pm today by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

After heated discussions spanning seven hours, the Bill was passed by with a majority of 311 votes against 80 in the Lower House where 391 members were present and voted on Monday.

In the 245-member Rajya Sabha, the halfway mark is currently 121 as five seats are vacant bringing down the strength of the House to 240.