Kapil Sibal, TMC's Derek O'Brien, SP's Ramgopal Yadav to speak on CAB in Rajya Sabha

Congress Kapil Sibal, Derek O'Brien of Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Ramgopal Yadav of Samajwadi Party (SP) are among the opposition leaders who will speak during the debate on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which is listed for introduction in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. After the conclusion of a 12-hour-long debate, which saw the participation of 38 MPs from across the political spectrum, the Lok Sabha on Monday midnight passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 with 311 votes in favor and 80 against the Bill. 

The Bill is scheduled to be tabled by Home Minister Amit Shah in the Upper House at 2 pm. The NDA will require the support of at least 123 MPs in the 245-member Rajya Sabha for the Bill to be passed. Opposition leaders Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Saugata Roy, N K Premchandran, Gaurav Gogoi, Shashi Tharoor, and Assaduddin Owaisi opposed the introduction of the bill in the Lok Sabha, which seeks to give citizenship to non-Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan escaping religious persecution there, saying it was violative of various provisions of the Constitution, including move to grant citizenship on the basis of religion.

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Opposition reaction on Bill

Chidambaram described the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill as "patently unconstitutional" on Tuesday and said with its passage in Parliament, the battleground will shift to the Supreme Court.  Sibal put forth his stand against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, and accentuated how it goes against the very ethos of the Constitution. Objecting to the divisive nature of the Bill, Sibal urged Home Minister Amit Shah to read a Constitution before making a statement in the Parliament.  

AIMIM Asaduddin Owaisi, in a dramatic protest, tore apart a copy of the Bill arguing it to be anti-national, inside the Lok Sabha on Monday evening. Ripping apart the Bill introduced by Home Minister Amit Shah, Owaisi claimed that it will lead to a new partition of the country.

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Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday opposed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and said his party will never support the bill. "We are against Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and the party will oppose it at all costs," he told reporters. Party MP Azam Khan also backed his party stands saying that CAB is an "insult" to the country. 

Trinamool MP and party supremo Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee rigidly opposed the Bill and called the BJP 'divisive.' Banerjee further asserted that BJP's idea of India is lost in 'mob lynching and communalism.' Further contending the Bill, the Trinamool MP questioned the exclusion of other neighbours like Sri Lanka and Myanmar in the process, over the government's claim that the Bill is on the basis of persecution.  A division of opinion was witnessed within the JD(U), with Rajya Sabha MP Pawan Varma and party vice president Prashant Bhushan contending the 'discriminatory' Bill, while, chief Nitish Kumar backed the Bill which was piloted by Home Minister Amit Shah.

(With ANI inputs) 

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