All the three major telecom companies have revised their prepaid recharge plans starting this month. Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel hiked their charges starting December 2 while Reliance Jio’s hike came into effect from December 6.

Here we have broken down the plans for you to compare and choose the one that is most suitable for your needs.

Airtel offers unlimited calls across other networks

Recharge plan	Validity period	Data	SMS	Other benefits
Rs 219	28 days	1 GB per day	100 per day	Free Hello Tunes, unlimited Wynk music and Airtel Xstream app
Rs 399	56 days	1.5 GB per day	100 per day	Free Hello Tunes, Wynk music subscription and Airtel Xstream App premium
Rs 449	56 days	2 GB per day	90 per day	Airtel Thanks benefits

Airtel Thanks is an exclusive rewards program for valued Airtel customers. As an Airtel Thanks member, you will get access to Airtel Xstream App premium, where you can enjoy exclusive content from ZEE5, HOOQ, Eros Now & ALT Balaji. Apart from this, you will also have access to 350+ Live TV channels, 10,000+ movies & TV shows etc.

Vodafone Idea also offers unlimited local/national calls to all networks

Recharge plan	Validity period	Data	SMS
Rs 149	28 days	2 GB for 28 days	300 per day
Rs 219	28 days	1 GB per day	100 per day
Rs 249	28 days	1.5 GB per day	100 per day
Rs 299	28 days	2 GB per day	100 per day
Rs 399	56 days	1.5 GB per day	100 per day
Rs 699	84 days	2 GB per day	100 per day
Rs 1,499	365 days	24 GB for 365 days	3600 per month

Reliance Jio:

Unlike Airtel and Vodafone Idea, Reliance Jio has a cap on the number of free outgoing calls to other networks. Compared to Airtel and Vodafone, Jio has more recharge plans. Here’s the list of new plans:

One month plan:

Recharge Plan	Validity period	Data	SMS	Jio to Jio calls	Jio to other network calls
Rs 199	28 days	1.5 GB per day	100 per day	Free	Free up to 1,000 minutes
Rs 249	28 days	2 GB per day	100 per day	Free	Free up to 1,000 minutes
Rs 349	28 days	3 GB per day	100 per day	Free	Free up to 1,000 minutes

Two months plan:

Recharge Plan	Validity period	Data	SMS	Jio to Jio calls	Jio to other network calls
Rs 399	56 days	1.5 GM per day	100 per day	Free	Free up to 2,000 minutes
Rs 444	56 days	2 GB per day	100 per day	Free	Free up to 2,000 minutes

Three months plan:

Recharge Plan	Validity period	Data	SMS	Jio to Jio calls	Jio to other network calls
Rs 555	84 days	1.5 GB per day	100 per day	Free	Free up to 3,000 minutes
Rs 599	84 days	2 GB per day	100 per day	Free	Free up to 3,000 minutes

Annual plan:

Recharge Plan	Validity period	Data	SMS	Jio to Jio calls	Jio to other network calls
Rs 2199	365 days	1.5 GB per day	100 per day	Free	Free up to 12,000 minutes

Affordable package:

Recharge Plan	Validity period	Data	SMS	Jio to Jio calls	Jio to other network calls
Rs 129	28 days	2 GB per day	300 per day	Free	Free up to 1,000 minutes
Rs 329	84 days	6 GB per da	1000 per day	Free	Free up to 3,000 minutes
Rs 1299	365 days	24 GB per day	3600 per month	Free	Free up to 12,000 minutes

Apart from these packages, Jio has introduced a new Rs 98 plan to its ‘affordable package’ category. This new recharge plan will be valid for 28 days and will give you a total data of 2 GB after which the speed will be reduced to 64 Kbps. You will also be getting a total of 300 SMSes free with this package.

Voice calls are free for all Jio to Jio and Jio to landline calls. However, if you want to make calls to non-Jio numbers, you will have to opt for IUC top-up vouchers. For every ₹10 spent on off-net mobile voice calls, you will be given an additional 1 GB data for free.

With no identification papers and sans rights to jobs and livelihood, the religious minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan lived in shanties and slums all over India.

They had escaped to India from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan to escape religious persecution and indignity, lived decades here but had been refused equality. With no identification papers and sans rights to jobs and livelihood, they lived in shanties and slums all over India.

Their near apocalyptic state, however, turned to hope last week as the Citizenship (Amendment) Act finally helped them ‘break free’. For these thousands of pariah Hindus, India is now home…

In the small 5X4 mud and brick room in a ramshackle shanty- in which people and utensils jostle for space and breath-the small colour TV on a three-legged stool-balanced on one side with old newspapers- had virtually lain besieged the day through. A huge whoopee at 11 pm, broke the reverie. The still, grim-faced crowd of some 13 people, some inside the room, rented by Nanavati-some standing close and outside- finally broke into laughs and guffaws- suddenly spirited. One fetched a brass plate and ‘stole’ the pestle and started hitting it like mad as if it were a temple gong. Others joined. Then emerged the swell of people, crossing over 200 in under 7 minutes. ‘Jaikaras’ followed-‘Hindustan Zindabad,’ the refrain taken up again, and again, and again…   

Majnu ka Tila, hugging the banks of the Yamuna near Kashmere Gate had suddenly come alive. This is where in some hundred–odd clusters of around 10-14 families each-over 750 persons who repatriated themselves from Pakistan have resided for long. The cause for celebration was given by Home Minister Amit Shah when the BJP-led Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 was passed late evening, Wednesday.
“Akhir mein Bharat ke ho gaye (finally I am an Indian), sighed Sita Devi, 29, a Hindu refugee who migrated from Hyderabad province of Pakistan. “I wish to forget the nightmare which assailed us through our existence there. I have erased all memories

“ she says Yahan sab apne hain, sabka haal barabar hai (here we are together-all equal). I don’t regret leaving the land of my birth. I am a Hindu. I belong to Hindustan. Here, I have religious freedom. I can recite the Gita and visit temples,” adds Sita. Nainabati, 27, recollects that her maternal and husband’s family were farmers, owned land and pucca houses in Karachi. “What they lacked was a sense of belonging.”
She adds: “We may have had land, some wealth. But what’s that if there’s no freedom. One day my family took courage, packed bags and made its way to Delhi.”

It’s the first time that the ‘bustee’ (settlement) has seen some cheer. They danced. Somebody procured a few crackers to celebrate. The people here who have survived with odd jobs as labourers, rickshaw-pullers, vegetable sellers in the absence of citizenship papers-just danced and danced into the night.

“We are finally in,” said one.

Though few have any idea about what the Bill means, they “only hope that we will not have to show up at police stations any longer.”Some 350 km out West, thousands in Jodhpur celebrated the passage of the Bill. Amidst shouts of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, they hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, distributed sweets and exchanged garlands to express their happiness.

Hindu Singh Sodha, President of the Seemant Lok Sangathan, working for the Pakistan Hindus in Rajasthan said, “Three years ago the government had issued directives to collectors to mainstream us but nothing happened, lost as it was in the bureaucratic maze. Now it will.”


Wearing dozens of garlands, Sodha said, “It’s like a dream come true. There are 25,000 Pakistan Hindus who crossed over, of whom 18,000 are registered with Foreigners Registration Office (FRO). Most are extremely poor and been waiting years for citizenship.”Many Pakistan migrants belong to SC/ST category. They hope, now they can avail of benefits for such sections. Among them is Deepa, a class XII student in Jodhpur. Earlier she would have had to wait 12 years, while the Bill has cut down the wait to 6 years. “I want to be a doctor. With reservation and special benefits, I hope I can be one and serve the society,” she said.

Ashok Suttar and family came in 2013 but was unable to buy property.

“We finally have a home,” he said, even as Chetan Das Meghwal, a teacher in Pakistan who has waited 19 years is sad that his daughter Devi, who graduated in engineering from Hissar, could not get a job for lack of citizenship and committed suicide out of frustration.

Hem Ji who came from Mirpur Khas five years ago said, “I am not worried about my children anymore. My wife Ganga and five children are now Indians.”

In the desert stretches of Bikaner, Barmer and Jaisalmer, thousands of migrants lighted candles over CAB. In Gangana and Aloksar, Chikha, Kali beri, Aangarwa, Banar and Dali Bai Mandir villages, many of them are engaged as artisans and in the farming, mining and handicraft sectors.

Among them are businessmen who believe they can now expand and commute to Delhi and Mumbai freely for trade.

Noor Ji Bheel at Dali Bai was a qualified doctor in Pakistan but since 2004, when he came in, he has been unable to practice. He was embroiled in a case for practicing and has been unable to resolve it still. His wife and parents are citizens though.

There were similar scenes of joy in the Barak Valley, Hilakandi and Cachar districts in Assam, where Hindu Bangladeshis rejoiced. Nabadwip Das had come during the Bangladesh Liberation War from Bhanugach in Sylhet district.

“I feel the problem will end now and my children will be Indians”, he said.

Biswajit Nath who is from Karimganj said he was born there but neither he nor his family members, figure in the NRC. “We have a new life due to CAB,” he said.

There are many such Hindu and Sikhs who have come in from Pakistan and Afghanistan and are settled in Punjab and Haryana for 10 to 25 years. In Jalandhar, which hosts some 187 families, Ashok Kumar, 45, who works for a sports goods manufacturer, is happy.

“I came with my parents in 1999. We have faced hardships, but it’s over now,” he said.

Sukhbir Singh who works as a scrap dealer had come in 1995.

“I got my sister married in Patiala but every year we have to get permits renewed from Delhi and report to police to extend our stay.”

For the 250 families in Elenabad, Hobli, Haripura, Neemla and Mameran villages of Sirsa in Haryana, the ‘CAB has come as a boon.’

Most had migrated from Pakistan’s Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalpur areas.

“I came in 1997 from Pakistan’s Punjab. My father died six months back. We do not have bank accounts, Aadhar or any document, which would allow us to work. Hope the nightmare is over,” said Surta Ram.

For 40 families settled in Rohtak’s Bari Banu, Kahnor and Mandina villages and work as menials and labourers, the CAB means they ‘can breathe independence.’ 

“We were lost and tortured souls but have now been found,” said Prakash, who came in 2004.
Surpal Singh Khalsa said. “Only 300 Sikh families reside now in Kabul, Ghazni and Jalalabad and there are only 1,500 such left in all of Afghanistan. Rest migrated to India.”

His family came with 70 other families after his father was killed in a blast in Kabul.

“There, we were called Indians; here we are known as Afghans. That ends now,” he added.

81-year old Nand Kishore, taken to Pakistan by Abdul Qadir-a Muslim landlord of Deoria- at partition time and converted, is happy. He came back to Rudrapur of Udham Singh Nagar in 1974 and has been awaiting citizenship.

“I am an Indian in soul and spirit. I didn’t know what to prove and how to before CAB came,” he said.

The migrants in Uttarakhand, mostly residing in Haridwar, Dehradun and US Nagar have clung to life with odd jobs and with charity.

There are 2,000 such households like Laxman Sharma’s who migrated from Khaira of Sindh and now live in Haridwar. He writes for an Urdu newspaper and does manual labour when not selling vegetables.

“We can now be free of fear and hunger,” he said.

Kavita Sharma left Battagram in Pakistan to avoid forced conversion and marriage after her uncle Jagdish was killed for resisting it. She is happy to be in “my country” to live sans fear of deportation 24/7.

Persecution passé

People in Race Course area of Dehradun like Sanjeev Vij, 52, arrived in 1996. “We were persecuted there and forcibly converted. Hindus were objects, not people In Pakistan. Now we have dignity,” he added.

There are some 20,000 migrants from Pakistan in Indore. Among them is Indira Bai, 70, who came in 2011.

“Now I hope to be a legal Indian citizen,” she said.

BJP MP Shankar Lalwani who has been helping Hindu refugees from Pakistan said, “Now that the bill is passed, the exodus of Hindus from Pakistan to India could intensify to escape the unimaginable persecution there.”

The mood among the ‘bitter’ and broken Pakistani Hindu community throughout India’s towns is of relief and the sense of finally breaking free from darkness and into light. 

Former Union Minister P Chidambaram will also file another petition on the same matter on behalf of former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

GUWAHATI: Senior Congress leaders of Assam filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the amended Citizenship Act on Saturday, a party spokesperson said here.

Former Union Minister P Chidambaram will also file another petition on the same matter on behalf of former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, the spokesperson told PTI.

In their petition, leader of Opposition in Assam Assembly Debabrata Saikia, Barpeta MP Abdul Khaleque and Mariani MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi highlighted the “blatant attempt to nullify the sanctity of Assam Accord, alleged contradictions in the Act with the provisions of Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India”.

They also said about the subjectivity related to the perception of persecuted minorities as stated in the new act.

The petition claimed that the Act is an attempt to impose an ethos which is in violation of the composite culture and age-old liberal values of the Assamese society.

The exclusion of minorities from the ambit of this Act is an attempt by the ruling party to manipulate their majority in Parliament for political gains, it said.

The petition comes at the backdrop of the unrest in Assam following the introduction and subsequent passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in both Houses of Parliament.

State unit chief Dilip Ghosh said West Bengal will be the first state where the Act will be implemented.

KOLKATA: West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh on Friday said the Citizenship Amendment Act will be implemented in the state and neither Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee nor her party, Trinamool Congress, will be able to stop it.

West Bengal will be the first state where the Act will be implemented, he said.

The BJP leader’s remarks came after Banerjee, one of the most vocal opponents of the amended Citizenship Act, said at a press conference that she will not allow the new law to be implemented in her state “under any circumstances”.

“Earlier she had opposed the abrogation of Article 370, demonetisation, but that didn’t stop the Union government from implementing it.

In this case too, the new Citizenship Act would be implemented in the state,” Ghosh said.

“Bengal, for that matter, would be the first state where it would be implemented,” he added.

Ghosh said Banerjee should come clean on why she is opposing it.

“Is it because she is afraid of losing her vote bank in the state? Let us make one thing very clear, the Citizenship Act would be implemented in the state, neither Banerjee nor her party would be able to stop it,” he said.

She is bothered about infiltrators but not about Hindu refugees who have been looking forward to this law for the last several decades, he claimed.

Banerjee had said the BJP will not be able to bulldoze the states to enact the new law.

The chief minister also announced a series of protests next week, saying she would hit the streets seeking revocation of the “draconian” Act.

BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya also attacked Banerjee, accusing her of “fuelling protests” in Bengal against the new Act by spreading misinformation.

“Why is Mamata Banerjee not taking action against the infiltrators who are behind the protests in Bengal? She is instigating masses to take law into their hands.

If she is so concerned about the infiltrators, why doesn’t she say anything about Hindu refugees,” he asked.

Protests demanding immediate revocation of the amended Citizenship Act reached the shores of West Bengal on Friday, with agitators resorting to violence and arson at railway stations and thoroughfares across the state.

According to police sources, people in the minority-dominated districts of rural Howrah, Murshidabad, Birbhum, parts of Burdwan and North Bengal hit the streets this morning, raising slogans against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.

In Kolkata, hundreds of protesters gathered at the Park Circus seven-point crossing, seeking the revocation of the law.

They raised anti-government slogans and burnt tyres on the thoroughfare, leading to traffic congestions in the southern and the central parts of the city.

President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday night gave his assent to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, turning it into an Act.

According to the amended Act, non-Muslim refugees, who escaped religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and moved to India before December 31, 2014, will be granted Indian citizenship.

Rahul Gandhi on Saturday tore into the Narendra Modi government over various issues including the controversial Citizenship Act.

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Saturday tore into the Narendra Modi government over various issues including the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019.

Rahul Gandhi said, “I was asked to apologise in the Parliament yesterday by the BJP members. They tell me to apologise for the correct thing. I am not Rahul Savarkar, my name is Rahul Gandhi. I will never apologise for the truth. Neither will any party worker apologise.”

He also called Narendra Modi a liar. “Demonetisation was a fraud. Narendra Modi lied to you at the time of demonetisation. He lied to you by saying he will fight against corruption. He snatched the money from your pockets and put it in the pockets of Adani and Ambani, ” he said.

Prior to Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi also took pot-shots at the Narendra Modi government.

Addressing the Bharat Bachao rally here at Ramlila ground, Priyanka Gandhi said: “This law will become the reason for the division of the country. If we don’t raise voice now, the country will be further divided. If you love the country, then raise your voice against it.”

Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Priyanka Gandi said, “Laws are being passed which are unconstitutional.”

Mocking the BJP government over its slogan of ‘Modi hai to mumkin hai’ (If Modi is there everything is possible), she said, “In newspapers or at bus stops, we see the advertisements that Modi hai to mumkin hai, but reality is that under Modi government, onion is selling at Rs 100 per kg, unemployment is at 45-year high, economy is in doldrums, Navratna PSUs are being sold, Indian Railways is being privatised and 15,000 farmers have committed suicide. This is possible only under the Modi government.”

Evoking her father’s memory while talking about Unnao rape victim, who was burnt alive by the rape accused, Priyanka said, “The blood of the Unnao daughter has mixed with the country, much like my father’s blood,” she said.

She also hit out at the government over the economic crisis and said that in six years of Modi government, the economy has only gone downward.

“Our economy was developing at a rate that the world turned their attention to, but in six years of the Modi government, our economy has tanked, people are losing jobs, factories are shutting down,” she said.

The protest rally comes amid an economic slowdown and raging protests across the northeast and in West Bengal over the Citizenship Amendment Act.

The Chief Minister is reported to have assured the delegation that the State Government will not allow implementation of National Register of Citizens in Odisha.

BHUBANESWAR:  Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik assured a delegation of leaders from Muslim community that the State Government will safeguard their future. 

The Chief Minister is reported to have assured the delegation that the State Government will not allow implementation of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Odisha.

A delegation of Chauda Mahala Muslim Jamat from Bhadrak, Balasore and Jajpur districts met the Chief Minister at Lok Seva Bhavan here and requested him not to implement NRC in Odisha.

They also apprised him about the doubts and fear in Muslim community after the passage of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in Parliament.

Naveen told the delegation that while supporting CAB in Parliament, the BJD had made it clear that NRC was a separate issue and needed wider discussion. 

“The Chief Minister told us not to panic about the enactment of CAB and assured that the State Government will safeguard our future,” a member of the delegation told media persons.

Gujarat, Haryana and Tamil Nadu accounted for 14 deaths each — the most for states.

NEW DELHI:  Eighty-three people have died while cleaning sewerage lines till November 6,  according to government data submitted in Parliament. Gujarat, Haryana and Tamil Nadu accounted for 14 deaths each — the most for states. The data was submitted in response to the question on how many deaths happened since 2016. 

According to the data, there were 50 deaths in 2016, 83 in 2017, and 66 in 2018. Since 2016, a total of 282 deaths have been recorded by the government, with the highest number of deaths reported from Tamil Nadu. Between 2013 and 2019, over 60,000 manual scavengers have been identified in the survey. Over 35,000 manual scavengers were identified from Uttar Pradesh – the highest across states. 

While over 7,000 manual scavengers were identified from Maharashtra, Uttarakhand identified over 6,000 manual scavengers. A total amount of `180 crore has been spent since 2013-14 for providing rehabilitation benefits for identified manual scavengers, according to another response to a Parliament question. A central sector scheme, Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS) is implemented through the National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC). 

In 12 seats polling will end at 3 pm, while voters in the remaining constituencies will be able to exercise their franchise till 5 pm.

RANCHI: An estimated 14.2 per cent of the over 56 lakh eligible voters exercised their franchise till 10 am on Thursday in the third of the five-phase Jharkhand assembly elections in 17 constituencies.

Though polling began on a sluggish note long queues, with women outnumbering men, were seen in several polling stations.

Senior Congress leader and former union minister Subodh Kant Sahay was among the early voters.

The voting began at 7 am amid tight security arrangements, officials said.

In 12 seats polling will end at 3 pm, while voters in the remaining constituencies will be able to exercise their franchise till 5 pm.

Altogether 56,18,267 voters, including 26,80,205 women and 86 third gender voters, are eligible to vote to decide the fate of 309 candidates, including 32 women nominees.

The seats going to polls in the third phase are Kodarma, Barkatha, Barhi, Barkagaon, Ramgarh, Mandu, Hazaribag, Simaria (SC), Dhanwar, Gomia, Bermo, Ichagarh, Silli, Khijri (ST), Ranchi, Hatia and Kanke (SC), an EC release said.

Two of the constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates and one for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidate.

Notable candidates in the fray are former Jharkhand chief minister Babulal Marandi, Urban Development Minister C P Singh and Education Minister Neera Yadav.

Babulal Marandi, president of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), is contesting from Dhanwar seat, while Singh and Yadav are contesting from Ranchi and Kodarma constituencies respectively.

Former deputy chief minister and AJSU party president Sudesh Mahto is trying his luck to regain Silli seat after he lost the 2014 assembly polls and the subsequent bypoll to JMM candidates Amit Mahato and his wife Seema Mahato.

The JMM has re-nominated Seema Mahato from the seat.

The BJP has not fielded candidates from Silli.

About 40,000 polling personnel have been deputed to conduct smooth and peaceful voting, Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer Vinay Kumar Choubey said.

Adequate security personnel have been deployed in the seats spread across eight districts, he said.

Of the total 7,016 polling stations set up for the third-phase, 1,008 are marked as critical and 543 sensitive in Naxal-affected areas.

The first of the five-phase polling for 13 constituencies had concluded on November 30 and the second phase polling for 20 seats was held on December 7.

The rest of the phases will be held on December 16 and 20. Counting will take place on December 23.

The Haryana Assembly had in March 2018 unanimously passed a bill which provided for death penalty to those found guilty of raping girls aged 12 years or less.

CHANDIGARH: A 12-year-old girl has alleged that she was raped repeatedly by four persons, including a minor, on several occasions in Haryana’s Karnal district, police said on Thursday.

In her compliant, the girl has alleged that the accused, who live near her house in Karnal, committed the crime at her home when her parents used to be away for work, they said.

“We received a complaint from the victim, who approached us with her parents on Tuesday and on the same day we registered the case under relevant provisions of law including under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act,” Station House Officer, Karnal (City) Police Station, Inspector Harjinder Singh said over the phone.

The girl has alleged that she was raped by the accused over a period in September, he said.

While three accused are aged between 18-20 years, the minor boy is aged around 15 years, Singh said.

“We have detained the accused and further investigations are on,” Singh added.

“The medical examination of the girl was conducted and she was counselled by the Child Welfare Committee,” the SHO said.

Police said they are verifying who among the four accused was known to the victim and took advantage to gain entry into her house and committed the crime and later how others too sexually exploited her.

The Haryana Assembly had in March 2018 unanimously passed a bill which provided for death penalty to those found guilty of raping girls aged 12 years or less.

MPs question in the Rajya Sabha how the government will ascertain whether the person applying for citizenship actually faced ‘religious persecution’.

NEW DELHI:  While the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019,  has become a reality for all practical purposes, work will be cut out for the Union Home Ministry in sketching out the finer points before 
implementing the law. The most important part of which may be identifying whether those who apply for Indian citizenship under the criteria laid out in the CAB really were persecuted due to their faith. It is unclear at the moment whether the Home Ministry will accept self-attested affidavits to this end or will work in conjunction with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to verify the claims of the refugees who apply for Indian citizenship.

Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said it would be difficult to prove “religious persecution”, which the government has made the ground for granting citizenship.  While opposing the Bill in the Upper House, Congress MP from Assam Ripun Bora cited a statement made by the Intelligence Bureau director while deposing before a joint parliamentary committee that it was “not possible to verify that persons have come to the country due to religious persecution”. 

Bora also said that the CAB may pose serious security concerns for the country. He quoted a statement of a senior R&AW official made before the expert committee which scrutinised the Bill. There are no official figures other than records furnished by the Intelligence Bureau before the JPC saying there are 31,313 people belonging to the six minority minority communities living in India on Long Term Visa. 

Bora also questioned lack of any official statistics to substantiate the purpose of the Bill. “In his speech, the home minister said crores and of people who were religiously persecuted have come and they have not been able to get citizenship.

Where are the crores of people? When did I ask the government how many such religiously persecuted people have applied for citizenship? The reply I got was 4,044 applications. When I asked for countrywide break, I was told from Aghanistan 687, from Bangladesh 84 and from Pakistan 2,508. When I asked for religious wise-break up, they said record not maintained. If you do not have data, on what basis are you going to give citizenship to these people?” the MP questioned. 

Here’s what Congress leaders said

Anand Sharma: If Sardar Patel meets your prime minister, then he would be very angry…Gandhi ji would also be sad saying, ‘you are celebrating my 150th birth anniversary and then you do this’

P Chidambaram: This (bill) is a slap in the face of Parliament. …I am afraid this government is ramming through (with) this bill in order to advance its Hindutva agenda…This is a sad day.

Sonia Gandhi: Today marks a dark day in the constitutional history of India. The passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill marks the victory of narrow-minded and bigoted forces over India’s pluralism