Citizenship Bill cleared by Rajya Sabha with 125 ayes after a 9-hour debate

In Assam, capital Guwahati was the epicentre of anti-CAB protests and was placed under indefinite curfew.

Parliament on Wednesday passed the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) amid widespread protests and incidents of violence against the proposed law in the Northeastern states, particularly Assam and Tripura. In Assam, capital Guwahati was the epicentre of anti-CAB protests and was placed under indefinite curfew. The Army was also deployed in the city. Assam Rifles personnel were deployed in Tripura. Internet services have been suspended in 10 districts of Assam.

In a related development, Maharashtra cadre Indian Police Service officer Abdur Rahman quit the service over the “blatantly communal and unconstitutional” Bill. The Rajya Sabha passed the Bill at 8:45 p.m., after a nearly nine-hour-long debate with 125 members voting in support of the Bill and 99 against. The current strength of the House is 240, with five vacancies.

Sources said 16 members absented from voting, including all three of the Shiv Sena and two out of the four of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The Sena had voted in favour of the Bill in the Lok Sabha, which had passed it on Monday.It said it staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha as the government did not give satisfactory replies to its queries on the Bill. The next battle for the Bill, once it gets presidential assent, is set to be fought in the Supreme Court with several Opposition parties and legal experts claiming that it violates the Constitution, particularly Article 14….