India's lower house passes contentious nationality bill

NEW DELHI : India's lower house passed controversial legislation early Tuesday that will grant citizenship to religious minorities from neighbouring countries, but not Muslims, amid raucous scenes in parliament and protests in the country's northeast.

"This is not a bill that is discriminatory," Home Minister Amit Shah said."This is a bill to give rights, not to take them away from anybody." During a lengthy debate marked by angry exchanges, opposition Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor said the bill"infringes upon the principle of equality before law" guaranteed to all persons, including non-citizens.

In August, his administration rescinded the partial autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority state, and split it into two. "I say this again and again that this bill has nothing to do with the Muslims in this country. The Muslims in this country will be able to live here with dignity, are living here, and will continue to do so," Shah said.Shah has recently also proposed a"national register of citizens" that would see"each and every infiltrator identified and expelled" from India by 2024.

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