States’ opposition to CAA unconstitutional: Nirmala

Says govt ready to talk to those who feel law will deprive them of citizenship

CHENNAI:THE stand taken by some states that they will not implement the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, is unconstitutional, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Sunday, while also rejecting allegations that the Bharatiya Janata Party (Bjp)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government was averse to welcoming Muslims into the country.

Speaking at an event in Chennai, Sitharaman said the government was ready to hold talks with those “having any apprehension that this law would deprive them of their citizenship”. She reiterated that the aim of the newly amended law, which has sparked nationwide protests, was to provide citizenship, not to snatch it away. “CAA is not against the Muslims. None of the Muslims in the country will be affected by CAA,” Sitharaman told the event organised by Chennai Citizens' Forum as part of the BJP’S nationwide campaign in support of the Act.“those who are opposing the CAA have remained silent about the condition in the refugee camps,” she said.

CAA, which fast-tracks the citizenship process for refugees of Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Parsi, Jain and Buddhist faiths who entered India from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh before 2015, got Parliament’s approval in December, during the winter.

Sitharaman said that in the

past six years, a total of 2,838 people from Pakistan, 914 from Afghanistan and 172 from Bangladesh received Indian citizenship. This included 566 Muslims.

“This data is for those who comment that the government has not given citizenship to Muslims. For example, Adnan Sami; he is a singer of prominence. He received citizenship in 2016 when the same Prime Minister was there then,” she said.