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Updated December 11th, 2019 at 16:16 IST

Congress' Anand Sharma slams BJP, says 'CAB hurts the soul of India'

Congress leader Anand Sharma on Wednesday slammed the BJP and the CAB during a debate in the Rajya Sabha, saying it is against the Preamble of the Constitution.

Reported by: Manjiri Chitre
Congress
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Congress leader Anand Sharma on December 11, slammed the BJP and the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) during a debate in the Rajya Sabha. He asserted that the CAB is against the Preamble of the Constitution. According to him, the bill is an "assault" on the Republic of India. He said, "The Bill that you have brought is an assault on the very foundation of the Indian constitution. It is an assault on the Republic of India. It hurts the soul of India. It is against our Constitution and democracy. It fails the morality test. It is divisive and discriminatory."

Sharma attacks BJP

The Congress leader took a jibe at BJP and stated that Sardar Patel, India's first Home Minister would have been angry with PM Modi he had met him on the present day. He said, "In our religion, we believe in rebirth and that we meet our elders. So if Sardar Patel meets Modi Ji then he will be very angry with him. Gandhiji will, of course, be sad, but Patel will be indeed very angry." Sharma further urged BJP to analyse the on-going protests against the legislation in the North East. 

Read: Ghulam Nabi Azad targets BJP for diverting public attention towards 'unconstitutional' CAB

On Veer Savarkar's two-nation theory

Asserting that Veer Savarkar had propagated the two-nation theory, Sharma said, "The CAB fails the constitutionality test." He said, "Savarkar was the leader of Hindu Mahasabha. Muhammad Ali Jinnah was the leader of the Muslim League. The two-nation theory was not propagated by Congress. It was done by Savarkar. The Muslim League adopted the partition of India resolution." 

Read: Shiv Sena's flip-flop on CAB due to threat from Congress; 'Cabinet berth not imp': Sources

He further questioned, "What was the role of the British? They gave veto power to the Muslim League and Jinnah. When the Second World War began, Congress was banned and declared an illegal organization. Thousands were jailed and Gandhiji gave the call of 'Quit India Movement'."

Read: Gaurav Gogoi slams BJP over CAB, blames the party for disturbance in the North-East

About Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. Through this bill, Indian citizenship will be provided to the members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from the three countries to India till December 31, 2014, to put an end to them being treated as illegal immigrants in the country. The Bill was passed by the Lower House of the Parliament earlier this year but lapsed with the term of the previous Lok Sabha during the first term of the PM Narendra Modi government in the Centre. 

Read: WATCH: Smoke bomb used amid standoff between Police & CAB protesters at Assam Secretariat

(WITH ANI INPUTS)

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Published December 11th, 2019 at 14:33 IST

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