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Ministry of external Affairs Hits Back at USCIRF
By: Tupaki Desk | 11 Dec 2019 5:21 AM GMT
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom(USCIRF) responded on the Citizenship Amendment Bill(CAB) and said Washington should consider imposing some sanctions against the Home Minister Amit Shah.
This statement came soon after the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha. The USCIRF released a statement in this bill and said, "deeply troubled" with the bill's passage, "given the religion criterion in the Bill". "If the CAB passes in both Houses of Parliament, the US government should consider sanctions against the Home Minister and other principal leadership," it added.
To this, the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) hit back at the USCIRF and said they are commenting about the bill even though they have very little knowledge of it.
MEA said "expedited consideration for Indian citizenship to persecuted religious minorities already in India from certain contiguous countries". "It seeks to address their current difficulties and meet their basic human rights. Such an initiative should be welcomed, not criticized by those who are genuinely committed to religious freedom."
The spokesperson of the MEA, Raveesh Kumar said, "Neither the CAB nor the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process seeks to strip citizenship from any Indian citizen of any faith. Suggestions to that effect are motivated and unjustified."
"Every nation, including the United States, has the right to enumerate and validate its citizenry, and to exercise this prerogative through various policies," he observed.
"The recent record of granting such citizenship would bear out the Government of India's objectivity in that regard," he added.
This statement came soon after the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha. The USCIRF released a statement in this bill and said, "deeply troubled" with the bill's passage, "given the religion criterion in the Bill". "If the CAB passes in both Houses of Parliament, the US government should consider sanctions against the Home Minister and other principal leadership," it added.
To this, the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) hit back at the USCIRF and said they are commenting about the bill even though they have very little knowledge of it.
MEA said "expedited consideration for Indian citizenship to persecuted religious minorities already in India from certain contiguous countries". "It seeks to address their current difficulties and meet their basic human rights. Such an initiative should be welcomed, not criticized by those who are genuinely committed to religious freedom."
The spokesperson of the MEA, Raveesh Kumar said, "Neither the CAB nor the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process seeks to strip citizenship from any Indian citizen of any faith. Suggestions to that effect are motivated and unjustified."
"Every nation, including the United States, has the right to enumerate and validate its citizenry, and to exercise this prerogative through various policies," he observed.
"The recent record of granting such citizenship would bear out the Government of India's objectivity in that regard," he added.
