'Landmark day for India': PM Modi on CAB passage

New Delhi, Dec 11: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hailed the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill by the Rajya Sabha, calling it "a landmark day for India and our nation's ethos of compassion and brotherhood".

"A landmark day for India and our nation's ethos of compassion and brotherhood! Glad that the #CAB2019 has been passed in the #RajyaSabha. Gratitude to all the MPs who voted in favour of the Bill. This Bill will alleviate the suffering of many who faced persecution for years," PM Modi tweeted.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill has been passed by the Rajya Sabha as well. In a 125 vs 105 vote the Rajya Sabha passed the Bill, which now has paved the way for persecuted Hindus, Buddhists, Parsis, Christians and Sikhs to get Indian citizenship.

The Bill was earlier passed in the Lok Sabha with 311 members favouring it and 80 voting against it, will now be tabled in the Rajya Sabha for its nod.

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, facing religious persecution there, will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.