A day after Lok Sabha passed the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill that seeks to grant citizenship to religious minorities persecuted in neighbouring countries, spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has appealed to the government to extend the favour to over 1 lakh Tamil Sri Lankans living in India as refugees.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said, "I request the Government of India to consider giving citizenship to more than 1 lakh Tamil Sri Lankans who are living in this country as refugees for the last 35 years."
The Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees coming from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan after facing religious persecution there, a little past midnight on Monday after a heated debate that lasted over seven hours.
The Bill, which was passed in the Lok Sabha with 311 members favouring it and 80 voting against it, will now be tabled in the Rajya Sabha for its nod.
Several amendments brought by opposition members, including one by a Shiv Sena MP, were defeated either by voice vote or division.
According to the proposed legislation, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, till December 31, 2014 facing religious persecution there, will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.
In a hard-hitting reply to the debate on the proposed legislation, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said people belonging to any religion should not have any fear under the Modi government as he asserted that the bill will give relief to those minorities who have been living a painful life after facing persecution in neighbouring countries.