Citizenship (Amendment) Bill will be challenged in court in near future: Singhvi

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill will be challenged in court in the near future as it is "highly suspect" in terms of constitutionality, senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi said on Wednesday. Earlier, senior Congress leaders indicated that the party could move court with AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal saying "we will explore all possibilities."

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, was passed by Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Lok Sabha cleared the Bill on Monday. Asked if the Congress will move the Supreme Court, Singhvi told PTI, "It is certainly a legislation highly suspect in constitutionality in terms of basic structure and legal validity."

"I have no doubt that it deserves to be challenged and will in the near future be challenged (in court)," said Singhvi, a Congress spokesperson and a senior lawyer. Senior Congress leader and senior lawyer P Chidambaram also said that the Bill was a "brazen assault" on the fundamental ideas enshrined in the Constitution and the fate of the law will be decided in the Supreme Court.

Another Congress leader Manish Tewari said that the Bill was "unconstitutional" and is going to be challenged in the apex court. Earlier in the day, asked if the Congress would approach the Supreme Court against the Bill if it is passed by Parliament, Venugopal said, "We will explore all possibilities." PTI ASK SMN

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