Congress won't let it pass: Rahul

Congress president Rahul Gandhi yesterday said his party would not allow the Citizenship Amendment Bill, that seeks to give citizenship to religious minorities from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, to be passed in parliament.

Addressing an election in Golaghat in Assam, he alleged the RSS is attacking Assam. "Your language, culture, and your history are under attack from the RSS. We won't allow the Citizenship Amendment Bill to pass."

He said the bill brought by the BJP, which was cleared by the Lok Sabha in January but blocked by the opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha, was an "attack" on the people of the north eastern states.

"We clearly said that we would not let it pass and we kept our word. BJP president Amit Shah had said that they would get it passed but we didn't let that happen. We won't let any attack take place on Assam or the northeast. We won't let the Citizenship Amendment Bill pass," he said.

Rahul's remarks came after the Congress party manifesto released by Rahul on Tuesday also promised to oppose the Citizenship Amendment Bill.   

The Bill has run into fierce resistance in all the nine north eastern states, including all allies of the BJP, and there had been street protests for several weeks against the proposed legislation.