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‘Misplaced and unwarranted concerns’: India rejects US’ criticism of CAA
India’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion to all citizens and there are no grounds for concern about the treatment of the country’s minority communities, says MEA
New Delhi: India on Friday rejected criticism of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) from the US and other quarters, saying concerns expressed about the law are misplaced and unwarranted as it is “not about taking away citizenship”.
India’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion to all citizens and there are no grounds for concern about the treatment of the country’s minority communities, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said a day after the US state department expressed concern about the Indian government’s move to implement the legislation enacted by Parliament in 2019.
Describing the CAA as an “internal matter” that is in keeping with India’s inclusive traditions and long-standing commitment to human rights, Jaiswal said the law grants safe haven to persecuted members of the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian minorities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who entered India before December 31, 2014.
Also Read: US ‘concerned’ about CAA implementation in India, says ‘closely monitoring’
“The CAA is about giving citizenship, not about taking away citizenship. It addresses the issue of statelessness, provides human dignity and supports human rights,” he said.
Brushing aside the US state department’s statement on the implementation of the CAA, Jaiswal said the Indian side perceives the American position as “misplaced, misinformed, and unwarranted”. He added: “Vote bank politics should not determine views about a laudable initiative to help those in distress.”
Jaiswal further said: “Lectures by those who have a limited understanding of India’s pluralistic traditions and the region’s post-Partition history are best not attempted. Partners and well-wishers of India should welcome the intent with which this step has been taken.”
Four years after the CAA was enacted, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lead central government notified the rules for implementing the law on March 11. The law seeks to fast-track the process for granting citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who entered the country before 2014.
The government’s move also drew criticism from the opposition, who contended that the rules for implementing the law are unconstitutional, discriminatory and violate the secular principle of citizenship enshrined in the constitution.
Detractors of the CAA have argued that by excluding Muslims from its purview and linking citizenship to religious identity, the legislation undermines the secular principles of the constitution.
When state department spokesperson Matthew Miller was asked about the law at a media briefing on Thursday, he said the US is concerned about the notification of the CAA. “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,” he said.
Also Read: SC agrees to hear pleas for staying CAA rules on March 19
The United Nations (UN) too has expressed concerns about the law, and a spokesperson for the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights described the CAA as discriminatory. The spokesperson told Reuters, “As we said in 2019, we are concerned that CAA is fundamentally discriminatory in nature and breach of India’s international human rights obligations.”
The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is studying whether the implementation of the CAA complies with international human rights law, the spokesperson said.
Rights groups such as Amnesty International and Afghan-Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen have also criticised the CAA. Amnesty International said the law is a “blow to the Indian constitutional values of equality and religious non-discrimination”, while Shaheen said the law should apply to all, irrespective of whether they are Muslims, Hindus or Sikhs.
When the CAA was passed by Parliament in 2019, it was criticised by the governments of several countries in the region, including Bangladesh and Afghanistan, which was then ruled by the civilian administration led by Ashraf Ghani.
