‘Concerned..closely monitoring,’ US reacts to India’s Citizenship Amendment Act

The United States expressed “concern” regarding the notification of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in India and stated that it is closely monitoring its implementation.

“We are concerned about the notification of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act on March 11,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily briefing.

“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,” Miller said in response to a question.

However, the Indian government has maintained that the CAA is about granting citizenship and that no citizen of the country will lose citizenship.

The Central government enacted the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 on Monday, just days before the announcement of the Lok Sabha election schedule. CAA will facilitate the provision of citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014.

Also Read: What is CAA, the law which led to massive protests in 2019?

Additionally, the government issued a press statement reassuring Indian Muslims that the CAA would not affect their citizenship status and emphasized that it is unrelated to the community, which enjoys equal rights alongside their Hindu counterparts.

Under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019, individuals who have migrated to India from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh before December 31, 2014, citing "religious persecution," and belong to six specific religious minorities - Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian - are eligible for citizenship.

Enacted by the Narendra Modi government and ratified by Parliament in 2019, the CAA rules seek to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who belong to non-Muslim communities such as Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians, and who entered India before December 31, 2014.

The CAA sparked huge protests across the nation on allegations that the act deliberately leaves out one community from its rules, which is against the fundamental right to equality and India's Constitution.

(With inputs from agencies)