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Outcome of debate on CAB should ensure equality: EU

Last Updated 10 December 2019, 18:49 IST

The European Union (EU) on Tuesday expressed hope that the outcome of the discussion in Parliament over the proposed Citizenship (Amendment) bill would be in sync with the high standard the Constitution of India had set in guranteeing equality before law without any discrimination.

The EU is also understood to have conveyed its concerns to the Government of India over the CAB, particularly over the apprehensions that it might create a religious test for citizenship and would thus undermine democracy.

“I have read about discussions in Parliament (on the CAB),” Ugo Astuto, the EU's envoy to New Delhi, told journalists.

He was asked to comment on the bill, which seeks to provide Indian citizenship to migrants of non-Muslim minority communities in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

“The Indian constitution guarantees equality before law. These are principles that we share. So I trust that outcome of the discussions will be in line with the high standards that constitution has laid down,” added Astuto.

The CAB was passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday. The Bill will be introduced and debated in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

The Congress and several other opposition parties have been opposing the Bill, arguing that it would set a mechanism to grant citizenship depending on the religious identity of the migrants and ran counter to the secular and pluralist spirit of the Constitution of India.

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(Published 10 December 2019, 15:32 IST)

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