The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 will be introduced in the Rajya Sabha on December 11. The Bill is likely to be taken up for consideration and passing following a debate.
After having been debated for many hours, the contentious Bill was passed in the Lower House on December 9, with 334 members favouring it and 106 voting against it.
Several amendments brought by opposition members, including one by a Shiv Sena Member of Parliament (MP), were defeated either by voice vote or by division.
The Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955. According to the Bill, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014, facing religious persecution in their respective native countries, will not be treated as illegal immigrants and stand eligible for Indian citizenship.