Citizenship (Amendment) Bill: Kailash Vijayvargiya slams opposition, says Congress bereft of ideology

BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya slammed the opposition leaders for their objections over the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) 2019 and said that with their stance on the issue the 'real faces of Congress and other parties have been revealed'.

"Congress has no ideology of its own. They ally with any party be it, Muslim league, in Kerala or Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. They just want to be in power. The true face of the Opposition party leaders has been revealed. Everything is now in front of the public," he said while speaking to ANI in Indore.

The BJP leader also slammed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for giving out a statement against the Citizenship Bill and said that state government has no role in implementing the Bill.

"In our federal structure, state government do not have any right in implementing the Bill or making new laws. It is up to the Parliament to decide. Being a chief minister, it is not appropriate for Mamata ji to give such statements. She should not say such things in public," he said.

The Bill, which seeks to give citizenship to refugees from the Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Zorastrian communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh was passed in Lok Sabha on Monday.

Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship Bill with a majority of 311 votes against 80 votes in the Lower House where 391 members were present and voted.

The cut-off date for getting citizenship under the bill is December 31, 2014. In the Rajya Sabha, the Modi government requires the support of at least 123 MPs in the 245-member House to pass the bill.