This Winter Session of Parliament will be remembered for the historic Citizenship Amendment Bill and, claims that apparently seem to serve no purpose except spreading falsehood.
Since the first Lok Sabha elections in 1952, the Parliament has always manifested the spirit of democracy – by the people, for the people and to the people of India. It is the current events that should concern us as citizens of this very country: the propaganda of spreading false claims, labeling them as history has the potential to wreak havoc. And secondly, the deterioration of the level of politics – doing everything or anything possible to malign the other party.
I would like to start with a statement that was made on Wednesday in the House. The statement apparently suggested that it was the Congress that had followed the idea of partition. However, history reads just the opposite of what was purported to be true! It was rather Mohammad Ali Jinnah who wished to see a partitioned land for Muslims. The idea of a separate land was fantasised by Jinnah and the like, not the Congress. The Grand Old Party of India, then led by Nehru wanted an independent India for all.
Most worrisome is the fact that these false claims are being made in the Parliament in the name of reading bills. The stages which a bill goes through before it finally becomes an act involves multiple stages of reading, followed by discussion and questions. It is and should be seen as a valuable gift of the form of government that our forefathers chose.
This time should be utilised for healthy debates and discussions, rather than stigmatising the Opposition or other political parties. It sends a wrong message and also reflects the dire straits that the political system is currently in. We need to realise the need to keep history as it is and not play with facts or quote lies in the garb of history for political gains.
The other important issue is the passing of Citizenship Amendment Bill amid much uproar. As a concerned and informed citizen of this country, I put forward my views and would like to say that the Bill in its current form, looks unconstitutional, for it grants citizenship on religious grounds. It is sheer, open violation of the constitutional principles, destroys the basic structure of our Constitution.
The key to our Constitution, i.e. the Preamble also mentions these important terms: justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. The selective granting of citizenship goes against the principle of equality. The Bill currently violates equality, thereby destroying one of the major pillars of democracy.