Even as the lies about the Citizenship Amendment Act by left-liberals continue, the union government today clarified in the Lok Sabha that Muslims refugees will continue to granted Indian citizenship despite the enactment of the CAA. Replying to a question by Kani K. Navas, Muslim League MP from Tamil Nadu, the home ministry yet again made it clear that CAA does not prevent anyone from getting Indian citizenship.
Replying to the question whether Muslim Refugees would be granted Indian Citizenship now onwards, the reply submitted by minister of state in the MHA Nityanand Rai on February 4 said that the present legal process of acquiring Indian citizenship by any legal migrant of any category through Naturalization (Section 6 of the Citizenship Act) or through Registration (Section 5 of the Act) remains un-amended. The ministry pointed out that many migrants belonging to majority religion in the neighbouring countries have also been granted Indian citizenship whenever they have applied to the competent authority and have been found eligible. “All legal migrants into India, irrespective of religions shall continue to get citizenship as per the provisions of the Citizenship Act,1955 if they fulfil the eligibility conditions,” the Home Ministry categorically stated in the parliament.
Replying to a question asking the reason for amending the Citizenship Act, and the reason for selecting December 31, 2014 as the cut-off date under the CAA, the reply by MHA stated that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act,2019 aims to facilitate grant of citizenship to migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who have taken shelter in India due to persecution on grounds of religion or fear of such persecution in their countries and have entered India on or before 31/12/2014, and who have been exempted from the penal provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and the Rules/orders made thereunder by amending the Passport (Entry into India) Rules 1950 and the Foreigners Order, 1948 vide notifications dated 07.09.2015 and 18.07.2016. As these notifications mention a cut-off date of 31.12.2014, the same cut-off date has been applied in the CAA, as the amendment gives citizenship to the same category of foreigners.
To the question asking how non-citizen Muslims will be treated, the government said that all non-citizens as equally covered under the provisions of Foreigners Act, 1946, The Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and the rules / orders made thereunder, and there is no separate rule for Muslim non-citizens. The ministry reiterated that all legal migrants, including Muslims, can acquire citizenship as per the prescribed norms.
The CAA gives relaxes the rules for granting citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian persons from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, but it does not change the process of granting citizenship to others. This has been clarified by the government repeatedly, but opposition parties and left-liberal media continue to peddle the lie that CAA discriminates against Muslims. The organisers of on-going anti-CAA protesters and many journalists have been successful in spreading the lie that Muslims will have to show documents proving that they are India citizenship due to the CAA, while the fact is that it does not apply to any Indian citizen, so there is no question of asking for documents from Muslims or anyone else due to the CAA. Moreover, the union government has also clarified in the Lok Sabha that it has no plans to implement NRC in near future, so nobody will be asked to show any documents, but the lies by left-liberal ecosystem about CAA and NRC continues.
