Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Thursday cancelled his visit to India, citing "increasing demand at home". Momen was supposed to arrive in New Delhi today as part of a three-day visit to India, which includes attending the sixth Indian Ocean Dialogue and Delhi Dialogue XI. He was also supposed to hold talks with Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar.

Momen said that he had to participate in the 'Buddijibi Debosh' and 'Bijoy Debosh' events back in Bangladesh. However, he added that he was looking forward to his January visit.

"I had to cancel my trip to New Delhi as I have to participate in the Buddijibi Debosh and Bijoy Debosh and more so as our State Minister is out of the country in Madrid and our Foreign Secretary is in The Hague. Given increasing demand at home, I decided to cancel his trip," said Momen.

The Bangladesh Foreign Minister cancelling his trip to India is invariably being interpreted in the wake of the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill in both houses of the Parliament.

Earlier, Momen had refuted Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement on the condition of religious minorities in Bangladesh, calling it 'unwarranted as well as untrue'. Shah had justified the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Parliament by claiming that it will ensure protection to persecuted communities in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.

Momen had refuted the claims of persecution and in turn, claimed that there were 'very few countries where communal harmony is as good as in Bangladesh'

"What they are saying in regards to torture on Hindus is unwarranted as well as untrue. There are very few countries in the world where communal harmony is as good as in Bangladesh. We have no minorities. We are all equal. If he [Amit Shah] stayed in Bangladesh for a few months, he would see the exemplary communal harmony in our country," Momebn had said earlier.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019, was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday with a 125-105 vote share, two days after it was passed in the Lok Sabha following a 12-hour long debate.

125 votes fell in favour of the Bill, while 105 votes were against it. The controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday, day after the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday midnight. The House began its discussions on the bill from 2 PM onwards.

The Bill aims to provide for Indian citizenship to the Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after six years of residence in India instead of the current mandatory stay of 11 years even if they do not possess any document.