New Delhi, Dec 11 (IANS): Stating that the government is setting right what was wrong in the history, BJP Rajya Sabha member KJ Alphons said that the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill gives persecuted minorities in the neighbouring countries the right to live.

Participating in the debate on the bill, Alphons said that India has been home to the oppressed and the depressed and this was the reason government had brought the bill.

"India was a place where after crucification of Jesus Christ and Christians were persecuted, one of the disciples of Christ came to Kerala and settled the Syrian church. Who allowed them to thrive in India? It was the Hindus. Today, Syrian Christians are most prosperous community because India has allowed them to thrive here," the BJP MP said.

He said that when religious minorities are persecuted the world has a responsibility to give them refuge.

"That's what this bill does," Alphons said.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 provides Indian citizenship to the members of the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who came to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan after they faced religious persecution in those countries. Once the bill is passed, they will not be treated as illegal immigrants and will be accorded Indian nationality.