3,924 refugees given Indian citizenship in last 6 years: FM

CHENNAI: Amid ongoing nationwide protests against Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said that as many as 2838 people from Pakistan were given citizenship during the last six years. “In the last six years, as many as 2838 Pakistani refugees, 914 Afghan refugees, 172 Bangladeshi refugees including Muslims have been given Indian citizenship. From 1964 to 2008, more than 4,00,000 Tamils (from Sri Lanka) have been given Indian citizenship,” Sitharaman said at ‘Programme on Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019’ event here. She added, “Till 2014, over 566 Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan were given Indian citizenship. During 2016-18 under Modi government, around 1595 Pakistani migrants and 391 Afghanistani Muslims were given Indian citizenship.” The minister, further, said, “It was also during the same period in 2016, that Adnan Sami was given Indian citizenship, this is an example.” Sitharaman added that people who came from East Pakistan have been settled at various camps in the country. “They are still there and it’s been 50-60 years now. If you visit these camps, your heart will cry. The situation is the same with Sri Lankan refugees who continue to live in camps. They’re barred from getting basic facilities,” she said.

be handled carefully, she said there was no necessity to link NPR or NRC with this. “NPR is taken every 10 years and it was not brought in by Modi government in 2010. It was by the

then Home Minister and senior leaders (of Congress),” she said.

They had then spoken in support of NPR, but, were opposing it now, Sitharaman said adding it was not right.