Indian Parliament approves citizenship law for non-Muslim minorities

New Delhi (Reuters): India’s ruling Hindu nationalist government on Wednesday secured parliamentary approval for a controversial citizenship law that critics say undermines the country’s secular constitution, as protests against the law intensify in some parts of the country.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill seeks to grant Indian nationality to Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains, Parsis and Sikhs, who fled Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan before 2015.

The bill passed the upper house, the Rajya Sabha, of the parliament with 125 members supporting it and 105 opposing on Wednesday, a day after clearing the lower house.