Citizenship Amendment Bill: India's Muslim Not Afraid Of You, Kapil Sibal To Amit Shah In Rajya Sabha

Kapil Sibal of Congress on Wednesday attacked Narendra Modi government during the debate on Citizen Amendment Bill 2019 in the Rajya Sabha. The senior Congress leader accused the government of dividing India on religious lines. Sibal also targeted Union Home Minister Amit Shah's comment that Muslims should not fear the bill, saying neither Indian Muslim nor Indian opposition was afraid of the ruling party but only respected the constitution. 

"You made a very objectionable statement earlier. Which Muslim fears you? No Indian Muslim fears from you. Neither I nor any other citizen of the country is scared of you. We fear only from the Constitution of the country," he said.

Sibal also blasted Shah's claim that Congress was responsible for India's partition in 1947. Sibal said that the two nation theory was perpetuated by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and not Congress.

"Amit Shah said CAB wouldn't have been needed if Congress hadn't allowed partition on basis of religion": I don't understand which history books the Home Minister has read. Two-nation theory is not our theory. It was perpetrated by Savarkar," he said.

Kapil Sibal requested Home Minister to withdraw that allegation. "Those who have no idea of India cannot protect the idea of India," he added.

Kapil Sibal warned that government should not convert the Indian republic into a Jurassic republic with two dinosaurs.

Earlier, Shah tabled the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, saying that the Bill will not affect the Muslims already residing in the country. The Congress, however, said that bill fails the 'morality test.'

"Misinformation has been spread that this bill is against Muslims of India.  They are Indian citizens and will always remain, there is no discrimination against the Muslims residing in India," said Shah adding that it is not possible to give citizenship to Muslims fled from Muslim dominated countries.