P Chidambaram hopes SC will strike down CAB

The opposition parties on Wednesday described the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 as an “insidious” and “unconstitutional” legislation, which they hoped would be struck down by the Supreme Court.

“This is a slap on the face of the Parliament. Parliamentarians are asked to do something unconstitutional, and then the baby is passed on to the judiciary,” senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said in the Rajya Sabha participating in an eight hour long debate on the contentious bill that was passed by the Upper House

Charging the Narendra Modi government for wrecking “a small part of the Constitution by an insidious bill”, he said, “We have three organs of the state. The executive is complicit, the legislature is being invited to collaborate. Hopefully the judiciary will strike it down and will save India and the idea of India.

Chidambaram was joined by party colleagues Anand Sharma and Kapil Sibal as well as by several other opposition leaders not only in questioning the bill, but also voice their suspicion on the saffron party's real motive behind the bill.

“The present bill has been drawn from Nazi Coffee Book and is part of BJP's agenda. through CAB and National Register of Citizens, the ruling party wants to alienate genuine Indians from their own country,” said Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien.

Initiating the debate, Congress leader Anand Sharma attacked the BJP for citing its poll manifesto to justify the bill. Though the bill was part of the 2019 manifesto of the BJP, it couldn't override the principles of the Indian Constitution, thundered Sharma.

“The bill gives legal colour to the two-nation theory perpetrated by (Vinayak Damodar) Savarkar and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Congress always believed in one nation. Those who have no idea of India can't protect it,” said Kapil Sibal.

Chidambaram also dared the Union Government to lay in the House the opinion expressed by the Union Law Ministry, the Home Ministry officials and the Attorney General on a bevvy of contentious questions associated with the bill.

“The proposed legislation violates three fundamental principles of Article 14 – (1) equality before law (2) unreasonable classification and (3) being an arbitrary one. Arbitrariness is writ large on the face of the bill,” said Chidambaram.

Several members from the North East felt the law would be a threat to the integration of the North East with the mainland. The region in the past experienced two waves of mass migration due to tea plantation in the British era and the influx after the 1971 war with Pakistan. The contentious legislation, they feared, might trigger the third wave.

The opposition parties on Wednesday described the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 as an “insidious” and “unconstitutional” legislation, which they hoped would be struck down by the Supreme Court.

“This is a slap on the face of the Parliament. Parliamentarians are asked to do something unconstitutional, and then the baby is passed on to the judiciary,” senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said in the Rajya Sabha participating in an eight-hour-long debate on the contentious bill that was passed by the Upper House

Charging the Narendra Modi government for wrecking “a small part of the Constitution by an insidious bill”, he said, “We have three organs of the state. The executive is complicit, the legislature is being invited to collaborate. Hopefully, the judiciary will strike it down and will save India and the idea of India.

Chidambaram was joined by party colleagues Anand Sharma and Kapil Sibal as well as by several other opposition leaders not only in questioning the bill, but also voice their suspicion on the saffron party's real motive behind the bill.

“The present bill has been drawn from Nazi Coffee Book and is part of BJP's agenda. through CAB and National Register of Citizens, the ruling party wants to alienate genuine Indians from their own country,” said Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien.

Initiating the debate, Congress leader Anand Sharma attacked the BJP for citing its poll manifesto to justify the bill. Though the bill was part of the 2019 manifesto of the BJP, it couldn't override the principles of the Indian Constitution, thundered Sharma.

“The bill gives legal colour to the two-nation theory perpetrated by (Vinayak Damodar) Savarkar and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Congress always believed in one nation. Those who have no idea of India can't protect it,” said Kapil Sibal.

Chidambaram also dared the Union Government to lay in the House the opinion expressed by the Union Law Ministry, the Home Ministry officials and the Attorney General on a bevy of contentious questions associated with the bill.

“The proposed legislation violates three fundamental principles of Article 14 – (1) equality before law (2) unreasonable classification and (3) being an arbitrary one. Arbitrariness is writ large on the face of the bill,” said Chidambaram.

Several members from the North East felt the law would be threat to the integration of the North East with the main land. The region in the past experienced two waves of mass migration due to tea plantation in the British era and the influx after the 1971 war with Pakistan. The contentious legislation, they feared, might trigger a third wave.