CHENNAI, DEC 11
Actor-turned-politician and founder of Makkal Needhi Maiam Kamal Haasan wondered why Sri Lankan Tamils and Muslims left out of the ambit of the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), it is a “genuinely benevolent’’ legislation as claimed by the BJP.
In a tweet Kamal Hasan said, “Why are Tamils who are subjected to a methodic genocide and Muslims facing discrimination, be excluded from the bill? If it’s a genuinely benevolent bill and not a vote garnering exercise, then why won’t this CAB stop to pick up stranded Tamils & troubled Muslims of Sri Lanka?”
Ravi Shankar also bats for refugees
Spiritual leader Ravi Shankar too batted for providing citizenship to Sri Lankan refugees staying in the country for over three decades.
Tamil Nadu has a significant number of Sri Lankan Tamils living in various parts of the state, including in the refugee camps run by the government across the state. Thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils flee during the ethnic war in the year 2002.
Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill on Monday. It will be tabled in Rajya Sabha for its consideration on Wednesday.
According to the proposed legislation, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who came to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan by December 31, 2014 and faced religious persecution in those countries, will not be treated as illegal immigrants and given Indian citizenship.
