(NDTV)
Calling the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill as important as the Article 370 move to end special status to Jammu and Kashmir, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today said BJP MPs must be present in large numbers in parliament when the bill is tabled by Home Minister Amit Shah next week. Briefing party MPs at a weekly meeting at parliament, Mr Singh also warned them that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was disappointed by members skipping house.
PM Modi was not present in the meeting but the Defence Minister conveyed the Prime Minister’s displeasure at frequent absenteeism by MPs.Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Patel also urged MPs to attend house “seriously” as important bills were lined up.Rejecting the opposition’s criticism of the the Citizenship Bill, which seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan if they faced religious persecution there, Rajnath Singh said the BJP has always worked to unite the country and its people.
