External Affairs Ministry has said that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is an internal matter of India and that those who have a “limited understanding of India’s pluralistic traditions” should not make “misplaced, misinformed, and unwarranted” comments on the legislation.
The MEA statement on Friday came after the US expressed concerns over the CAA, which was notified earlier this week.
In a press briefing on Friday, the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal 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 wellwishers of India should welcome the intent with which this step has been taken.”
The Union Home Ministry notified rules for the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on March 11, days ahead of the announcement of the Lok Sabha election schedule.
The CAA rules, introduced by the Narendra Modi government and passed by Parliament in 2019, aim to confer Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants–including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians–who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before December 31, 2014.
Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 enable persons eligible under CAA-2019 to apply for the grant of Indian citizenship and applications are to be submitted in a completely online mode for which a web portal has been provided by the government.
