"CAA will neither give nor take away citizenship of Indians"

Union Law Minister Ravishankar Prasad on Thursday asserted the Citizenship Amendment Act will neither give nor take away citizenship of Indians and said the protests against it was "motivated" and "ill-informed."

He targeted Congress for its opposition to the legislation, recalling that former Prime Ministers the late Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, had given citizenship to Gujaratis driven away from Uganda and Sri Lankan Tamils in the past.

CAA only aimed at providing citizenship to persecuted minorities--Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis and Christians, from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, and it was India's "obligation" to do so, he told reporters here.

It was also constitutional and the Act neither takes away an Indian's citizenship nor provides one, he said.

 

"This campaign (against the CAA) is unfair, ill-informed and motivated," he said.

Besides Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi having provided citizenship to the persecuted minorities from Uganda and Sri Lanka in the past, Congress leaders, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had batted for granting Indian nationality to such persons from Bangladesh, he pointed out.

He said Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had also written to the Centre in the past on this matter.

"If Congress does it then it is ok, but if (Narendra) Modi government does it, it is bad?," he asked.

The CAA will not harm any Indians, including Muslims, he asserted.

On the National Population Register (NPR), Prasad said it was only a register of Indian residents and not citizens.

It would help Central and state governments formulate policies based on census data and even the previous Congress government at the Centre had decided to implement NPR, he added.

Regarding the National Register of Citizens (NRC), he said "nothing has been decided" about it.

On the protests against the CAA and NRC, the Minister said the "Modi government is open to criticism, but don't take to violence."

However, "people are understanding" the CAA when BJP leaders reach out to them, he said.

To a question on BJP's Tamil Nadu allies, the ruling AIADMK and PMK, having reservations over NRC, Prasad said his party will hold talks and "take them into confidence.