New Delhi: Just two days after cruising through the Lok Sabha, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was tabled in the Rajya Sabha by Home Minister Amit Shah Wednesday.
The controversial bill, which seeks to ease the rules of Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities belonging to six religions from neighbouring countries, may face an uphill task in the Upper House if the united weight of the opposition comes down on it.
While the BJP has a clear majority in the Lower House, the party needs support from its allies to clear the bill in the Rajya Sabha where it has 83 MPs. In the 240-member House, the effective strength Wednesday is 236, with four MPs absent.
Among these four MPs are one from the BJP and one from the NCP.
The BJP needs 119 votes to pass the controversial legislation.
According to the indications different political parties have given until now, BJP seems to have more than the number it requires. Apart from 82 BJP MPs and 11 from AIADMK, BJD’s seven MPs and six MPs of JD(U) have said they will support the proposed legislation.
On the other hand, 105 MPs are likely to vote against the bill that they say is “unconstitutional” and violates the Right to Equality. The opposition to the bill is being led by the Congress (46 MPs), with support from the Trinamool Congress (13 MPs) — the third-largest party in the House.
Six political parties remain undecided on the bill.
Shiv Sena, which supported the bill in the Lower House, is likely to stage a walkout in the Rajya Sabha if its conditions are not met.
AGP (1), on the other hand, has hinted that it may support the bill, as has the MDMK (1). Most of the independent candidates have also indicated that they will support the ruling party’s stance.
Also read: On Citizenship Bill, Modi and Amit Shah don’t really care what Supreme Court will say
Mere paas Bahumat hai. No answer to that in a democracy if a maximalist approach is taken. Watching the opposition MPs soldier on in the Rajya Sabha, the split screen showing agitations in the north east, the thought struck me that the outcome is preordained.