Rohingyas not to get citizenship under CAB as they didn't come directly to India: Shah

Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that Rohingya would not be granted citizenship under the proposed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill as they did not come to India directly from Myanmar.

Replying to the debate on the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Shah said that the Rohingyas first reached Bangladesh and then infiltrated into our country.

"It was asked that why were Rohingyas not included in the Bill? Rohingyas don't come to India directly. They go to Bangladesh and then infiltrate into India from there," he said.

He said that the Bill has been brought to rectify a historic blunder -- the partition -- and give a dignified life to non-Muslims of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who fled religious persecution and settled in India before December 31, 2014.

Shah said that the need to bring the Bill goes back to the partition and Pakistan's failure to protect its minorities.

"Despite Kabil Sibal and Anand Sharma's insistence, I would once again say that the partition happened on the basis of religion. It was a blunder, which forced me to introduce this Bill," he said.

Shah said: "There would have been no need to introduce this Bill. This Bill is to address the problem created by the partition. Also, if any government would have solved the problem, there would have been no need for this Bill."

Shah also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi led BJP government is not there to only run the country but also set things right.Replying to Congress MPs P Chidambaram, Anand Sharma and Kapil Sibal's concerns, Shah said the Article 14 of the Constitution allows the Parliament to frame laws based on "reasonable classification" which, he said, was in the Bill.

The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday with a majority of 311 votes against 80 votes where 391 members were present and voting.