If Citizenship Bill passed, it will be victory of Jinnah's thoughts over Gandhi's: Shashi Tharoor

New Delhi, Dec 09: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday said if the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is passed by Parliament, it will be a victory of the thoughts of Muhammad Ali Jinnah over Mahatma Gandhi. Participating in the debate on the contentious Bill, Tharoor said the proposed legislation goes against the basic principle of the Constitution.

"If this bill is passed, then it will be a victory of Muhammad Ali Jinnah's thoughts over Mahatma Gandhi," he said. According to the proposed legislation, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, till December 31, 2014, and facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants and will be given Indian citizenship.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill will extend persecuted non-Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan dignity and an opportunity to rebuild their lives after the proposed legislation was passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday night.

The Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees coming from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan after facing religious persecution there, a little past midnight on Monday after a heated debate that lasted over seven hours. The Bill, which was passed in the Lok Sabha with 311 members favouring it and 80 votings against it, will now be tabled in the Rajya Sabha for its nod.