CAB to tabled in Rajya Sabha today

The controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) will betabled in the Rajya Sabha today. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will introducethe bill in the Upper House at 2 PM. Six hours have been allocated to debatethe bill in the House.

The Bill has to be passed by both the Houses of the Parliament to become a law. The bill has already cleared the Lok Sabha test where 311 MPs voted in favor of the legislation. The ruling BJP is confident that the legislation will be passed by the Upper House with a comfortable majority.

The BJP-led NDA is expecting 124-130 votes in the Upper House which has an effective strength of 240 members and 121 is the halfway mark. The Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, to provide Indian nationality to Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains and Buddhists fleeing persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.

Those who came to India before December 31, 2014, will be granted the citizenship of India. The bill relaxes the requirement of residence in India from 11 years to six years for these migrants.