Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: Reacting strongly to the US State Department’s statement on the implementation of Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, India has term it ‘misplaced’, ‘misinformed’, and ‘unwarranted’ and said it was an ‘internal matter of India’.
Addressing media in New Delhi, Randhir Jaiswal, a spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said lectures by those who have a limited understanding of India’s pluralistic traditions and the region’s post- Partition history should not be attempted. He also said that partners and wellwishers of India should welcome the intent with which this step has been taken.
India’s internal matter
Jaiswal further said the CAA is an internal matter of India and is in keeping with India’s inclusive traditions and long-standing commitment to human rights. He said the Act grants a safe haven to persecuted minorities belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian communities from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh who have entered India on or before December 31, 2014.
The CAA, he stressed, is about giving citizenship and not about taking away citizenship. “It addresses the issue of statelessness, provides human dignity and supports human rights, “he said. Highlighting that India’s Constitution guarantees freedom of religion to all its citizens, the MEA spokespersons said there are no grounds for any concern on treatment of minorities. The spokesperson emphasised that votebank politics should not determine views about a laudable initiative to help those in distress.
In a statement on March 15, the US State Department had expressed concerns regarding the CAA notification and stated that it was closely monitoring the implementation of the law. “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,” US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller had said.
