CITIZENS AMENDMENT BILL : ‘A BLACK SPOT ON INDIAN DEMOCRACY — MUST BE ABROGATED’

  

Statement issued by CFD on CAB

The following is a statement on the Citizens Amendment Bill (passed in Parliament) by
S.R. Hiremath, President, Citzens For Democracy, N.D. Pancholi, General Secretary
and Anil Sinha, Secretary. The statement was issued on December 12, 2019

The passing of the Citizens Amendment Bill that is, CAB by the Indian Parliament on  December 11, 2019 is   one of the most shameful provisions ever passed by it since independence. The arguments advanced by  Amit Shah, the Home Minister, and other members of the ruling coalition, in support of the CAB are on their face value superfluous and hollow. The Bill is a poisonous, horrifyingly wicked and patently discriminatory measure. It is shocking that Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, said that the CAB is in line with India’s centuries-old ethos of assimilation and belief in humanitarian values when this Bill in its essence is quite opposite of what our traditions of tolerance and fraternity stand for. It is ironical that such a shameful measure has been passed by the Indian Parliament when we in India are celebrating the 550th birth anniversary year of Guru Nanak and 150th birth anniversary year of Mahatma Gandhi both of whom laid emphasis on the unity of  the human race and universal brotherhood. Those who claim to be champions of the Hindu religion should remember what Guru Nanak said: “He who regards all men equal is religious.†and exhorted all men to share their wealth with the poor and deprived without any consideration of caste or creed. The very concept of Gurudwaras is to provide shelter and relief to all without any distinction of religion or nationality. It was deplorable to see the members, especially of Akali Dal, coming in support of the Bill which is a total antithesis of what the Gurus have taught. We are proud of the song “Vaishnav Jan to Tene Kahiye Jo Peer Paraie Jaane Re†(he alone is noble who understands and feels the pain of others). India’s centuries-old ethos flow from the age old concept “Vasudev Kutumbkam†that is, all humanity is our family. Our saints Budhha, Mahavir, Tulsidas, Guru Nanak, Kabir, Tukaram, Vivekananda and many others never preached or promoted any theory of hate or discrimination on the basis of caste or creed. This Bill is totally in contravention of India’s centuries-old ethos of assimilation and belief in humanitarian values, the values which were cherished by us during our freedom struggle and which have found due expression in our Constitution. The passing of the Bill is a black spot on Indian democracy. Sooner the ugly spot is washed away the better. We should not wait for the judiciary to rise and undo the mischief. Sometimes judiciary also fails the people. A robust democratic  people’s movement is the need of the hour calling for abrogation of this heinous measure which is a direct assault on our age-old ethos and constitutional values. No doubt we shall overcome.