Home Minister Amit Shah opened the debate on the citizenship amendment bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday, rebutting the opposition charge that the change in law that fast-tracks citizenship for non-Muslims from Pakistan,Bangladesh and Afghanistan discriminates against anyone.

“You prove that this bill discriminates against anyone and I will withdraw it,” Shah told the Congress-led opposition in the Lok Sabha as he requested members to consider passing the legislation.

“This bill gives rights to people (who have faced religious persecution)… it does not snatch anyone’s (existing) rights,” Shah said,rebutting suggestions that the bill was driven by the ruling Bharatiya JanataParty-led government’s politics.

There is no political agenda behind this bill. There is no question of doing injustice to anyone. With the passing of this bill, lakhs ofcrores of people will get rid of torturous life and become citizens of India,”he said. The NDA government had introduced an early version of the citizenship bill in parliament during Narendra Modi’s first term in office. But the billgot stuck in the Rajya Sabha where it did not have the majority.

The bill to relax rules for minorities from the threecountries is seen to be designed to insulate non-Muslim communities from thesecountries, essentially Bangladesh, who may not be able to prove theircitizenship. In Assam where an effort to update the citizens’ register is on, asignificant proportion of the 1.9 million residents left out are Hindus. Inneighbouring West Bengal that is seen to be high on the BJP’s radar, chiefminister Mamata Banerjee and her party have pointed to the Assam experience tounderscore that the citizens’ register proposed by the Centre would spare nocommunity.

It is in this context that Amit Shah had, during his publicmeetings in Bengal, messaged non-Muslims that they did not need to be worriedabout the citizens’ register that was designed to identify illegal immigrants,or infiltrators.Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the other hand, haspromised to block any effort to execute the NRC in her state. But there havebeen multiple reports of people queuing up at local government offices to getthemselves identity documents that they hoped would insure them against a driveagainst non-citizens.

Amit Shah appeared to allude to the race for identitydocuments in Bengal when he promised non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh thatthey had no cause for concern.

“Don’t be afraid. Whether you have a ration card or not, wewill give you citizenship,” he said; the assurance was seen to respond topanicked villagers in Bengal trying to bolster their citizenship claim with aration card or other identity documents.

Shah also underlined that most parts of the northeast wereoutside the purview of this law and asked people to end protests.

The Congress has alleged that the bill has been brought into distract people from the failures of the BJP-led government on NRC and theeconomic front.Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said the bill is in violation of manyarticles of the Constitution and the basic spirit of the Preamble which talksof equality, liberty and fraternity.

“It seems that the the NRC was nothing but a politicalexercise for the BJP because when 40 lakh were excluded, Home Minister AmitShah jumped and termed them infiltrators. Many of them turned out to beIndians,” Gogoi said“We respect the fact that our Constituent assemblyenvisioned a secular state. No one should be discriminated on the basis ofreligion. But it is also the duty of the state to protect its borders andidentify the refugees and intruders,” said Shah. Expressing his sympathy withnon-Muslims of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Shah said that they fledtheir countries when life became unbearable for them and the bill will providea life of dignity and respect to them in India.

“No one leaves their country easily. No one wants to leavetheir village. But lakhs of people fled their countries out of the anxiety andtorment they faced there and now they have been living in India without accessto basic facilities like education and health facilities,” Shah said.He saidthe migrants have been living their life like a hell in India after fleeingpersecution. “After this bill, they will get rights and respect,” he stated

Addressing concerns of the people of Northeast, he said, “Weare also committed to protecting the socio and linguistic and cultural identityof people of Northeast.”