HM Amit Shah smiles after Citizenship Amendment Bill passes in Lok Sabha| Master Stroke

The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 after a six-hour long debate which saw a fiery speech by Union Home Minister Amit Shah defending the controversial Bill.

Among a total of 391 members present in the Lower House, 311 voted in favour of the Bill while 80 voted against it.

The Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, excluding Muslims, from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan eligible for Indian citizenship. The Bill relaxes the requirement of residence in India from 11 years to six years for these migrants.