India on Tuesday said the statement made by a committee of the US government on religious freedom after the Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was neither accurate nor warranted. "The statement made by USCIRF on Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is neither accurate nor warranted," India said in its response.
"The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) provides 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, " said India in its response.
"Neither the CAB (Citizenship Amendment Bill) 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," India said.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) had asked the US government to consider sanctions against Home Minister Amit Shah and other principal leadership for trying to make a law that it says "is creating a religious test for Indian citizenship that would strip citizenship from millions of Muslims".
"The position articulated by USCIRF is not surprising given its past record. It is, however, regrettable that the body has chosen to be guided only by its prejudices and biases on a matter on which it clearly has little knowledge..." the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"The statement made by the USCIRF on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is neither accurate nor warranted. The bill provides expedited consideration for Indian citizenship to persecuted religious minorities already in India from certain contiguous countries," the government said in the statement, a day before the bill is to be presented in the Rajya Sabha.
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