Sonia Gandhi calls Citizenship Bill’s passage a ‘victory of bigoted forces’

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday condemned Parliament’s approval of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, calling it a dark day in India’s constitutional history and a triumph of narrow-minded and bigoted forces over the country’s pluralism.

The vote

The Rajya Sabha passed the Bill with 125 votes in favour and 105 against. The Lok Sabha had approved it on Monday by 311 votes to 80.

Gandhi’s criticism

In a statement released immediately after the vote, Gandhi said the Bill did not merely offend the principles of equality and religious non-discrimination written into the Constitution. It also, she said, rejected the vision of an India free for all its people, whatever their religion, caste, creed, region, language or ethnicity.

“The Bill fundamentally challenges the idea of India that our forefathers fought for,” she said, adding that it would create a divided India in which religion would decide nationhood. She called it flawed legislation that went against the spirit of the freedom movement, and said the Congress would keep up its fight against what she described as the BJP’s divisive and polarising agenda.

Gandhi said India had historically given shelter to persecuted people of every nation and faith, and argued that a free India could stay free only if its people were liberated, their voices heard and its institutions committed to protecting citizens’ rights. She also called it ironic that the Bill had been pushed through while India and the world were marking the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

See also: Congress and BJP

Originally published on 12 December 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us