Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan wondered why Sri Lankan Tamils and Muslims were left out of the ambit of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill if it was a "genuinely benevolent" legislation.

"Why are Tamils who are subjected to a methodic genocide and Muslims facing discrimination, be excluded from the bill? If it's a genuinely benevolent bill and not a vote garnering exercise, then why won't this CAB stop to pick up stranded Tamils & troubled Muslims of Sri Lanka?" he said in a tweet. 

Earlier on Tuesday, spiritual guru Ravi Shankar and lyricist Vairamuthu had batted for providing citizenship to Lankan refugees staying in the country for over three decades.