India’s Citizenship Amendment Act Is Internal Matter, US Concerns Misplaced and Unwarranted: MEA – News18

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) of 2019 is an internal matter of India that aligns with the nation’s inclusive tradition, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday as it rebuffed US concerns as “misplaced, misinformed and unwarranted.”

“The Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 is an internal matter of India and is in keeping with India’s inclusive traditions and a long-standing commitment to human rights. The act grants a safe haven to persecuted minorities belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian communities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who have entered India on or before 31st December 2014,” MEA Official Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a weekly media briefing.

“The CAA is about giving citizenship, not about taking away citizenship, so this must be underlined. It addresses the issue of statelessness, provides human dignity, and supports human rights,” he said. Over US concerns about CCA expressed by the US State Department, the MEA spokesperson said, “As regards the US State Department’s statement on the implementation of CAA, and there have been comments made by several others, we are of the view that it is misplaced, misinformed and unwarranted.”

On Thursday, the US said it is concerned about the notification of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in India and is closely monitoring its implementation. “We are concerned about the notification of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act on March 11,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily briefing. “We are closely monitoring how this act will be implemented. Respect for religious freedom and equal treatment under the law for all communities are fundamental democratic principles,” Miller said in response to a question.

During the presser, Jaiswal also underlined India’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion to all its citizens, saying that there are no grounds for any concern or treatment of minorities. “Vote bank politics should not determine views about a laudable initiative to help those in distress. Lectures by those who have a limited understanding of India’s pluralistic traditions and the region’s post-partition history are best not attempted,” he added.

The Indian government implemented the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 on Monday, paving the way for the grant of citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014. The government also came out with a press statement to say that Indian Muslims need not worry as the CAA will not impact their citizenship and has nothing to do with the community which enjoys equal rights as their Hindu counterparts. The Indian government has maintained that the CAA is about granting citizenship and that no citizen of the country will lose citizenship.