A U.S. senator expressed concern about the Indian government’s notification of implementation rules for the CAA. He said that as the U.S.-India relationship deepens, cooperation must be based on shared values ​​that protect the human rights of all people, regardless of religious beliefs. .

India last week implemented the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019, paving the way for granting citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014.

The government also issued a press statement saying that Indian Muslims need not worry as the CAA will not affect their citizenship and has nothing to do with the community which enjoys equal rights as Hindus.

Senator Ben Cardin said: “I am deeply concerned about the Indian government’s decision to unveil its controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill, particularly the potential impact it will have on India’s Muslim community. Worse still , the bill was promoted during the holy month of Ramadan,” the chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee said in a statement.

“As the U.S.-India relationship deepens, it is critical that our cooperation is grounded in shared values ​​that protect the human rights of all people, regardless of religious affiliation,” he said.

Last week, the US State Department expressed concern over the CAA notification and said respect for religious freedom and equal treatment of all communities under the law are basic democratic principles.

India sharply rebuked the US State Department for its criticism of the Civil Aviation Authority, calling it “misinformed and baseless”. The Hindu Policy Research and Advocacy Collective (HinduPACT) and the Global Hindu Heritage Foundation supported the CAA in separate statements.

The legislation provides fast-track citizenship to persecuted Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain and Zoroastrian minorities from India’s neighboring countries. They said this underlines India’s commitment to protecting individuals and families from religious persecution and echoes global humanitarian principles.

“The CAA does not affect any Indian citizen. Characterizing the law as non-secular is unfounded. Hindu minorities are discriminated against and massacred in India’s periphery. As Americans, we are disappointed that we are not represented American values ​​and Hindu values.” “Our government has chosen to oppose this humanitarian effort,” said Ajay Shah, founder and co-convenor of HinduPACT.

Deepti Mahajan, co-convenor of HinduPACT, said there was a shocking lack of empathy for the plight of little girls from Pakistan’s Hindu, Sikh and Christian minority communities.

“According to reports from the UN Human Rights Council, BBC and APPG, an average of 1,000 girls as young as 10 years old are abducted, converted and become victims of sexual slavery and forced marriage in Pakistan every year. The Pakistani government is complicit in this heartbreaking act “The State Department is seeking to criticize the Indian government’s efforts to help these innocent victims,” ​​she said.

VS Naipaul of Global Hindu Heritage Foundation said: “The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 addresses the plight of minorities who face atrocities, persecution, forced conversions, murders, rapes in our neighboring Islamic countries and all kinds of atrocities. The ideas of secularism, peace and humanity simply cannot survive.”

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)