NEW DELHI: Congress has issued a three-line whip to its Rajya Sabha lawmakers asking them to be present in the Upper House on Wednesday as the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 is likely to be tabled on that day.
The Lok Sabha, on Monday, passed the Citizenship Bill with a majority of 311 votes against 80 votes where 391 members were present and voted.
The Bill seeks to give citizenship to refugees from the Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Zorastrian communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The cut-off date for getting citizenship under the bill is December 31, 2014.
In the Rajya Sabha, the Modi government requires the support of at least 123 MPs in the 245-member House to pass the bill.
As per the calculations of the BJP's floor managers, the effective strength of the Rajya Sabha is 238.
The NDA's current strength is 105 in the House, including 83 members of the BJP, six of Janata Dal (U), three of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), one each from LJP and RPI(A) and 11 nominated MPs.
The BJP is in talks with AIADMK which has 11 members, the BJD with seven members, YSRCP with two members and TDP with two members.
With support of these 22 members, the BJP-led NDA will have the support of 127 members in the House which is above the majority mark of 123.