Kerala Guv says Citizenship Act not discriminatory, has nothing to do with Indian citizens

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Sunday said that the amended Citizenship Act has nothing to do with Indian citizens and asserted the legislation does not discriminate people on the basis of religion.

"This Act is an assurance which was given by Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and the Congress party. They had said this in 1947 that minorities in Pakistan did not demand partition. After partition, they became second-class citizens there," Khan told ANI when asked to comment on the contentious CAA over which massive protests have erupted across the country.

"All our national leaders, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2009, had promised this (to give citizenship). This Act has nothing to do with Indian citizens.... There is no religious discrimination in our citizenship law," he stressed.

The Governor also said that in 2009, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had written a letter to the then Union Home Minister P Chidambaram demanding to grant citizenship to Hindus and Sikhs who had come to India from Pakistan fleeing religious persecution.

"In 2009, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot wrote a letter to the then Union Home Minister P Chidambaram demanding a scheme to give citizenship to Hindus and Sikhs who had come to India from Pakistan after facing religious persecution as these people were living a miserable life," Khan said.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh and who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.