Citizenship bill introduced against the spirit of the Constitution: Pilot

Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot on Wednesday alleged that the BJP-led central government has introduced the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill against the spirit of the Constitution.

The Bill, which is being debated in Rajya Sabha, seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan escaping religious persecution there.

"The Constitution's Article 14 does not mention that citizenship will be given on the basis of religion. Anyone who has bad character, has faced criminal action cannot be a citizen of the country.

"But, the BJP-led Centre government has brought the Bill on the basis of religion, which the Congress will not accept under any situation," Pilot said during a sit-in here against the Bill.

He said the Congress is strongly opposing the Bill inside Parliament and even on streets.

The government is not paying attention to rising unemployment resulting from slowdown in the economy, Pilot said.