Lok Janshakti Party leader and Union Minister Ramvilas Paswan has accused the Opposition parties of spreading misinformation regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), asserting that Muslims have no reason to fear as the Act is meant only to grant citizenship and not revoke the status of any existing citizen.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr. Paswan said, has repeatedly clarified that the CAA is only to grant citizenship and not snatch it. “This law has no connection with citizenship of any Indian citizen. It is solely to grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikh Jain, Buddhists and Parsis coming from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. No Muslim citizen of India need to worry about anything,” Mr. Paswan said.
‘NRC not finalised’
He said the National Register of Citizens, which is often linked to the CAA, has so far not been finalised. “The NRC will not be connected to any religion. No person can be denied citizenship on the basis of religion,” Mr. Paswan added.
The National Population Register is a usual enumeration exercise which does not distinguish between citizens and non-citizens, he said. “The UPA in 2004 could have repealed the 2003 Amendment that first introduced the concept of NRC. Instead of repealing it, the then Home Minister P. Chidambaram said on May 7, 2010 that NRC will follow NPR. Mr. Chidambaram had also added at that time that Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes who are unable to produce documents about birth place and date of birth will not targeted. No Indian citizens will be harassed,” Mr. Paswan added.
The LJP chief’s comments come at a time when other NDA allies, including the Akali Dal and the Janata Dal (U) have expressed varied views on the CAA following nationwide protests against it. While both parties supported the legislation in Parliament, they have since spoken out against it. The Asom Gana Parishad, which too supported the legislation, has slammed it after its notification.
