CAA Doesn’t Apply To Indian Citizens, They Are Completely Unaffected By It: MHA
Mumbai: Following the ongoing protest all over the country over Citizenship Amendment Act, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) spokesperson has clarified that the Act does not apply to Indian citizens and they are completely unaffected by it.
MHA spokesperson explained the provisions pertaining to citizenship in India and some concerns regarding the Act.
“Citizenship of India can be obtained by birth, descent, registration, naturalization or incorporation of territory. On becoming eligible, any foreign citizen can obtain natural citizenship by registration or regardless of his or her country or community. #CAA2019 enables foreigners of six minority communities from three countries to apply for citizenship on the basis of religious persecution,” the spokesperson stated.
“It does not amend any existing legal provision that enables any foreigner to apply for Indian citizenship through registration/naturalization. CAA does not apply to Indian citizens. They are not fully Are unaffected, ”it is further stated.
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The spokesperson further informed that in the last six years, 2830 Pakistani, 912 Afghani and 172 Bangladeshi citizens have been given Indian citizenship.
“Many of them are from the majority community of these countries. Such migrants of the majority community of neighbouring countries shall continue to get Indian citizenship if they fulfil the eligibility conditions already provided in the law for registration or naturalisation,” the Ministry official stated.
“On different occasions, special provisions have been made by Government in the past to accommodate the citizenship of foreigners who had to flee to India. E.g. 4.61 lakh Tamils of Indian origin were given Indian citizenship during 1964-2008. The CAA does not target any religious community from abroad. It only provides a mechanism for some migrants who may otherwise have been called ‘illegal’ depriving them of opportunity to apply for Indian citizenship provided they meet certain conditions,” spokesperson added.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, protects the interests of the tribals and indigenous people of North East by excluding areas under 6th Schedule and areas covered by Inner Line Permit. Therefore, there is no question of any influx of foreigners swamping the indigenous population, the spokesperson stated.
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