Citizenship (Amendment) Bill: BJP issues whip to its Lok Sabha MPs

With Union Home Minister Amit Shah set to introduce the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill on Monday, the ruling BJP has issued whip to all its Lok Sabha members to remain present in the House for three days starting from December 9, sources in the party said on Sunday. The bill seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan escaping religious persecution there.

The whip, asking all BJP MPs to be present in the House, has been issued, a source said. The bill to amend the six-decade-old Citizenship Act will be introduced in Parliament in the afternoon, and later in the day it will be taken up for discussion and passage, according to the Lok Sabha's List of Business for Monday.

The bill is set to sail through smoothly in the Lok Sabha, as the BJP has 303 MPs in the 545-member House.