India calls the US Civil Aviation Administration’s remarks “wrong, misleading and baseless”

The opposition called the CAA a “desperate attempt to divide politics” by the BJP.

New Delhi:

The Indian government on Friday rejected US comments on India’s implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that it “will closely monitor”, calling the remarks “wrong, misleading and baseless” and an infringement of New Delhi’s internal affairs. put one’s oar in.

“The Citizenship Amendment Act is about granting citizenship, not taking away citizenship. It addresses statelessness, provides human dignity and supports human rights,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told a press conference this afternoon.

“As for the US State Department’s statement on the implementation of the Civil Aviation Act, we believe it is wrong, misleading and baseless,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized.

The government also responded sharply, saying it was “best not to attempt a speech by someone who has limited knowledge of India’s diverse heritage and the region’s post-partition history.”

“India’s partners and well-wishers should welcome the intent of this move.”

Earlier today, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller was asked whether the US government was concerned that the CAA might affect religious freedom in India. “We are concerned … we are watching this law and how it is implemented very closely,” Mr Miller responded.

Read | ‘Will be closely monitored…’: US view on India’s new citizenship law

The CAA was notified on Monday, weeks before the country holds general elections.

The law, approved by parliament in 2019 but delayed due to the pandemic, aims to simplify the citizenship application process for undocumented non-Muslim immigrants (from six communities) fleeing religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Critics have questioned the government’s exclusion of Muslims, but Home Minister Amit Shah said the law was intended to help minorities in countries facing religious persecution.

Read | Why are Parsis and Christians eligible for CAA but Muslims are not?Amit Shah explains

He said Muslims from these and other countries could still apply for citizenship under existing laws.

The government also said that the CAA does not mean that the rights of Indian Muslims will be revoked or abolished. India’s estimated 180 million Muslims will have “equal rights as any other citizen.”

Read | Government clarifies citizenship law amid opposition attacks

The CAA, the government further stressed, is only concerned about Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, Buddhists or Jains from the three Muslim-majority countries of Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan who are persecuted due to their religion. Fleeed and entered India on or before December 31, 2014.

Additionally, the government said the law only reduces the waiting time for eligible individuals to apply for citizenship from 11 years to five years.

“The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion to all Indians. There is no reason to worry about the treatment of minorities. Vote-bank politics should not determine views on laudable initiatives to help the poor,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs announced today.

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