Citizenship Amendment Bill: Congress to hold nationwide protest on Dec 11

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which got a nod from the Lok Sabha, will be introduced in the Rajya Sabha tomorrow

The Congress will hold a nationwide protest on Wednesday against the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) which was passed by Lok Sabha on Monday.

A letter from party's General Secretary KC Venugopal to state Congress Committee leader said, "We need to enlighten the public at large on our stand and mobilize support in favour of the decision. I request you to undertake Dharna Pradarshan tomorrow against the bill in the state headquarters."

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which got a nod from the Lok Sabha, will be introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Five Congress MPs were absent were absent during voting on Citizenship Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha. The five MPs are -- Gurjit Singh Aujla, Revant Reddy, Komarti Reddy, Jyotsna Chandra, and Geeta Koda.

Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi came to Lok Sabha when the bill was tabled but was not present during voting.

It will be tabled in the Upper House at 2 pm by Home Minister Amit Shah. The Bill, which seeks to give citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Zorastrian communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh was passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

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

In the Rajya Sabha, the Centre requires the support of at least 123 MPs in the 245-member Upper House.