New Delhi: A well-known constitutional expert and former Lok Sabha secretary general Subhash Kashyap had told the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) that the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) should omit reference to specific religious and rather use the term “persecuted minorities”.

As per an Indian Express report, Kashyap gave his view to the JPC two years ago, when it was examining the Bill, that the term “persecuted minorities” could be used to cover all the communities that the Act planned to cover.

The JPC report mentions Kashyap’s views without taking his name.

“While making an observation on the word minority included in the proposed amendment Bill, one of the Constitutional experts while tendering evidence before the Committee opined as under: ‘Firstly, the term minority has not been defined in the Constitution. I would submit that minority does not mean only religious minority. It may be minority on other grounds…If you say persecuted minorities, it will cover all those people you have in view’.

The Constitutional expert further stated: ‘…If you want to be on the safer side, we would have to omit reference to religions like Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, etc. I again submit that if we use the term ‘persecuted minorities’ the purpose would be served. As compared to communities, minorities would perhaps be more useful from the legal and constitutional point of view’.”

Based on Kashyap’s testimony, the committee then sought views from the law ministry, which disagreed. “Using persecuted minorities from the neighbouring countries instead of its current form may negate the objectives of the Bill. As there is a possibility for wider scope of interpretation, it may be construed to include other communities (religious or otherwise). Moreover, the aspect of ‘religious persecution’ would also be lost sight of,” Law ministry told the JPC.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), passed by parliament earlier this month, aims to fast-track citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Christians and Buddhists fleeing religious persecution in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, if they have arrived in India before December 31, 2014.

“My view was that it would have meant the same thing. I had said it to the Joint Parliamentary Committee. It was not necessary for them to specify Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, etc. They could have achieved the purpose without that, too,” Kashyap told the Indian Express.

Protests have erupted following the passage of the CAA, with critics pointing out that this was the first time a religious-specific clause has been introduced into citizenship. The protestors also state that the CAA, in conjunction with the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens, could effectively lead to the disempowerment of many Indians who don’t have proper documentation.

While there have been several protests, violence has largely been reported from Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Karnataka.

Also Read: No Legal Backing for UP Govt’s Action Against Property of ‘Rioters’: Lawyers

Kashyap argued that the only way to “correct” the Act was through the “court of law” or by parliament amending it.

“As believers of the Constitution, we should accept that there are ways to correct it, not by protesting violently,” he said.

Kashyap, who had been secretary general through three Lok Sabhas, noted that parliament was supreme as per the Constitution.

“Those who are protesting are not elected representatives of people… So far as the Constitution is concerned, rightly or wrongly, the elected representatives have taken a decision,” he said.

On the opposition keeping “It (the CAA) can be questioned in a court of law. Or in a democratic way, you can also try to change it in Parliament, either by changing the complexion of the Lok Sabha in the coming elections or moving an amendment to the Act and getting a majority for it,” he added.

Noting that those who opposed the Bill in parliament had been in minority, Kashyap felt that political parties which voted in favour of the CAB, but are now opposing it were “playing to votebank politics”.