Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday slammed the government over the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, saying it was an 'attack on the Indian Constitution'.
The Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill a little past midnight on Monday after a heated debate that lasted over seven hours.
'The CAB is an attack on the Indian constitution. Anyone who supports it is attacking and attempting to destroy the foundation of our nation,' he tweeted.
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
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too attacked the the government over the bill and said: 'India's tryst with bigotry and narrow minded exclusion' was confirmed as the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha at midnight yesterday.
'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,' she said in a tweet, recalling her great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru's speech on the midnight of August 14-15, 1947, when India rang in its Independence.
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.
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) December 10, 2019
In that freedom, is enshrined the right to equality, and the right to freedom of religion.
'Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom,' Nehru had said in the opening lines of a speech believed to be among the greatest in the 20th century.
Pledging to fight against the government's 'agenda to systematically destroy our constitution,' she said that the dreams of unified India belongs to us all.
'Our constitution, our citizenship, our dreams of a strong and unified India belong to ALL of us. We will fight against this government’s agenda to systematically destroy our constitution and undo the fundamental premise on which our country was built with all our might,' Priyanka tweeted.
The citizenship bill seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees coming from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan after facing religious persecution there.
Our constitution, our citizenship, our dreams of a strong and unified India belong to ALL of us.
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) December 10, 2019
We will fight against this government’s agenda to systematically destroy our constitution and undo the fundamental premise on which our country was built with all our might.