The Indian House of Lords has approved a change in the controversial citizenship law. Relatives of non-Muslim minorities from neighboring Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan can now be granted Indian citizenship. The House of Commons had already voted in favor of the amendment on the night of Tuesday.
Specifically, these are illegal immigrants from the religious minorities of Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jaina and Parsi, who arrived in India by the end of 2014 to escape religious persecution in their countries.
Among other things, the opposition criticized the law because it discriminates against Muslims. The project also violated the separation of religion and state. Thousands of people took to the streets in the northeast of the country before the vote in the House of Lords. According to Indian media, there were violent clashes between police and protesters. Protesters then set fire to cars, throwing stones and breaking barriers.
The police used tear gas and water cannons against them, which had mobilized the army. For a city, a curfew was imposed, in some regions, the mobile Internet was turned off.