Citizenship Amendment Bill: No party's manifesto is above Constitution of India, says Congress MP Anand Sharma

Congress MP Anand Sharma said that the Citizenship Amendment Bil is an assault on the very foundation of the Constitution of the country and it hurts the very soul of our country.

In a scathing attack on the Centre over the introduction of Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), 2019 in Rajya Sabha, Congress MP Anand Sharma said that the CAB is an attack on the very foundation of the Constitution of the country. Sharma stressed that the Bill is an assault on the Republic of India and it hurts the very soul of our country.

"The bill that you have brought is an assault on the very foundation of the Indian constitution, it is an assault on the Republic of India. It hurts the soul of India. It is against our constitution and democracy. It fails the morality test," Sharma said. The Congress leader also stressed that this Bill is against the Constitution of India and no party's manifesto is above the Constitution of the country.

The Congress leader also targeted the Centre over its decision to bring the Bill in a hurry and asked what is the reason behind the urgency in introducing the Bill. Sharma said that the Congress is against the Bill and the opposition is not political but ideological. "Why the urgency with the Bill. We oppose this. The reason for opposition is not political but ideological. Assault on the foundation of the constitution," he said.

"The bill is against the preamble of the constitution. This move in 2019 is an insult to our constituion's founding fathers...you are insulting their wisdom," added Sharma.

During the debate, the senior Congress leader said that India has given shelter to many people who came from Pakistan after partittion and two of them, including Dr Manmohan Singh and IK Gujral, went on to become the prime minister of the country. "We have given shelter to people who came over from Pakistan post partition...two among them have been our PMs...Dr Manmohan Singh and IK Gujral," Sharma said.

"The citizenship act has seen amendments since 1955 but the fundamentals of this act has never been tampered with...You say we should rise above politics...but I request you to not politicize this matter," Sharma noted.

Replying to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's claim in Lok Sabha on Monday (December 9) that the Congress should be blamed for partition in 1947, Sharma said that the two-nation theory was first brought by Hindu Mahasabha in Gujarat in 1937.

"Why are you not talking about the involvement of the British? it was they who empowered the Muslim League...British banned congress while they allowed Muslim League and Hindu Mahasabha to push for two nations," he continued.