Ministry of External Affairs today released a statement calling out United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a US federal government commission over its statement calling the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) ‘dangerous turn in wrong direction’.
We regret the inaccurate and unwarranted comments made by USCIRF on #CAB. They have chosen to be guided by their prejudices and biases on a matter on which they have little knowledge and no locus standi.
Read our full statement below ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/BLajy03MtZ
— Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) December 10, 2019
In a statement issued by the MEA, the ministry’s official spokesperson said that the statement made by USCIRF is ‘neither accurate nor warranted’. The statement further read that the CAB provides expedited consideration for Indian citizenship to persecuted religious minorities already in India from certain contiguous countries. The bill seeks to address the difficulties they are currently facing and to meet the basic human rights.
The MEA clarified that the CAB does not affect the existing avenues available to those all the communities interested in seeking Indian citizenship. “Neither the CAB nor the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process seeks to strip citizenship from any Indian citizen of faith. Suggestions to that effect are motivated and unjustified,” the statement reads.
In a sharp rebuttal, the MEA spokesperson further called out USCIRF and said that given its past records, the position articulated by the same is not a surprise. “It is, however, regrettable that the body has chosen to be guided only its prejudices and biases on a matter on which it clearly has little knowledge and no locus standi”.
