New Delhi: As the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, also called CAB, was passed in the Lok Sabha Monday night, Twitter reflected the violent disagreement of opinion inside and outside Parliament.
Here’s the CAB driver Home Minister Amit Shah and his cheerleader Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
I would like to specially applaud Home Minister @AmitShah Ji for lucidly explaining all aspects of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019. He also gave elaborate answers to the various points raised by respective MPs during the discussion in the Lok Sabha.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 9, 2019
Thank you honourable PM @narendramodi ji. You are an inspiration and under your leadership we all strive harder each day to build a #NewIndia for our future generations. https://t.co/TZlR3QuUEL
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) December 9, 2019
In the opposing corner, there’s Congress’ Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. While Priyanka echoed her great-grandfather’s speech at midnight on Independence Day, Rahul assailed those who supported the Bill, which the media saw as a criticism of the Shiv Sena — Congress’s partner in Maharashtra.
Last night at midnight, India’s tryst with bigotry and narrow minded exclusion was confirmed as the CAB was passed in the Lok Sabha. Our forefathers gave their lifeblood for our freedom.
In that freedom, is enshrined the right to equality, and the right to freedom of religion.
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) December 10, 2019
The #CAB is an attack on the Indian constitution. Anyone who supports it is attacking and attempting to destroy the foundation of our nation.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 10, 2019
Caught in between is the JD(U) after two senior members voiced their concern over the party’s support for the bill.
I urge Shri Nitish Kumar to reconsider support to the #CAB in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill is unconstitutional, discriminatory, and against the unity and harmony of the country, apart from being against the secular principles of the JDU. Gandhiji would have strongly disapproved it.
— Pavan K. Varma (@PavanK_Varma) December 10, 2019
Disappointed to see JDU supporting #CAB that discriminates right of citizenship on the basis of religion.
It's incongruous with the party's constitution that carries the word secular thrice on the very first page and the leadership that is supposedly guided by Gandhian ideals.
— Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) December 9, 2019
AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi literally tore into the bill — he ripped it into pieces — during his Lok Sabha speech and sounds angry even now.
At the stroke of midnight hour, while the world slept, India’s ideals of liberty, equality, fraternity and justice were betrayed
I fought hard against it & I promise every Indian that this fight isn’t over
Don’t let hopelessness come near you
Be defiant, be strong https://t.co/X5qtEU0Pvt
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) December 9, 2019
Across the border, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan threads together a string of vituperative responses.
ہمارا مطالبہ ہے کہ قابض بھارت سرکار تمام انسانی و بین الاقوامی قوانین کیخلاف مقبوضہ وادی میں کشمیری جوانوں، بچوں اور عورتوں کا بہیمانہ قتل عام بند کرے۔ ہم اپنے حق خود ارادیت کیلئے میدان عمل میں ڈٹے ہوئے جری کشمیریوں کو سلام پیش کرتے ہیں اور پوری ثابت قدمی سے انکے ساتھ کھڑے ہیں۔
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) December 10, 2019
انسانی حقوق کے عالمی دن کے موقع پر ہمیں عالمی ضمیر، عالمی قانون کے پاسداران اور سلامتی کونسل سے اپیل کرنی چاہئیے کہ وہ مقبوضہ کشمیر پر قابض بھارت سرکارکے ناجائز قبضے کیخلاف اقدامات اٹھائیں۔ ہم قابض بھارت سرکارکےمقبوضہ کشمیر کے 4 ماہ سےزائد عرصے پرمحیط محاصرے کی شدید مذمت کرتےہیں۔
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) December 10, 2019
We strongly condemn Indian Lok Sabha citizenship legislation which violates all norms of int human rights law & bilateral agreements with Pak. It is part of the RSS "Hindu Rashtra" design of expansionism propagated by the fascist Modi Govt. https://t.co/XkRdBiSp3G
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) December 10, 2019
Activist Shehla Rashid snarls in outrage but isn’t she being unjust to a man’s best friend?
India has gone to the dogs.#CitizenshipAmendmentBill
— Shehla Rashid (@Shehla_Rashid) December 9, 2019
Writer Chetan Bhagat and comedian Kunal Kamra get into a childish spat over CAB.
Maturity lies in not listening to you… https://t.co/JkaqFhHAmN
— Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) December 10, 2019
Academic Pratap Bhanu Mehta foresees a scary future.
We can debate the past forever. But with CAB India takes a giant step to officially convert a constitutional democracy into a unconstitutional ethnocracy.
— Pratap Bhanu Mehta (@pbmehta) December 9, 2019
The BJP is fond of rewriting history but this is ridiculous — Bangladesh was created in 1971, right? No wonder this tweet has been taken down.
And lastly, if there is one thing that gets journalist Tavleen Singh mad, it is unwarranted attacks on her son Aatish Taseer.
How dare you!! India is my country as it has always been that of my son. And, it will always be. https://t.co/zhbadDZbro
— Tavleen Singh (@tavleen_singh) December 10, 2019
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