The citizenship reform bill became law

New Delhi, 13 Dec 2019, Friday

President Ram Nath Kovind signed the National Citizenship Amendment Bill late Thursday night, which has now become law.

When the bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, it was once again expected to be rejected, but the BJP's leadership had already taken the allies into confidence, so the bill passed easily.

The Indian Union Muslim League, however, challenged the bill in the Supreme Court. It was also announced that a senior Congress leader and veteran lawyer Kapil Sibal would fight the case on behalf of the Muslim League.

Those who opposed the bill argued that the Indian constitution had adopted the doctrine of secularism and said that the bill was illegal and unconstitutional because the bill sought to amend religious discrimination.

A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court is to hand over the case. The Act provides for the Indian citizenship of Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains and Christians who have come to India after being subjected to religious oppression as a minority in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Muslims were excluded.