Congress, TMC and CPM push the false narrative on CAA but once more, even after it led to an anti-Hindu riot 2 years in the past: Details

Addressing a operate within the nationwide capital on the 553rd Prakash Parv of Guru Nanak Dev, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke concerning the significance of the Citizenship Amendment Act that was handed in 2020. He emphasised the significance of CAA as a way to assist the persecuted Hindus and Sikhs affected by the partition.

PM Modi mentioned, “In memory of the sacrifices by the people of Punjab and the country during the partition, the country has started commemorating the Partition Horrors Remembrance Day. We have also tried to create a way to give citizenship to the Hindu and Sikh families affected by the Partition by bringing in the CAA. You must have seen that Gujarat granted citizenship to persecuted Sikh families abroad. This has given them confidence that India is the home for Sikhs living anywhere in the world.” 

Interestingly, on the thirty first of October, the central authorities invited purposes for citizenship from Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Christians and Buddhists hailing from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who’re at present residing within the Mehsana and Anand districts. The Modi authorities delegated its powers to grant citizenship to the collectors of the talked about districts. While the foundations underneath the CAA are but to be framed, the MHA invoked the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955. 

No sooner had PM Modi made these remarks about CAA, the opposition hit at PM Modi and began peddling the very falsehoods about CAA that led to widespread and organised riots towards Hindus in 2020.

State Congress president Adhir Chowdhury mentioned, “Citizenship cannot be granted based on a person’s religion. The Constitution of the country does not allow such a thing. It goes against the ethos of the country. This is nothing but an attempt to polarise the people of Gujarat ahead of the Assembly polls.”

Similar statements had been made by TMC and CPM as nicely.

CPM chief Sujan Chakraborty mentioned, “The country witnessed Partition 75 years ago. Are those staying in the country for last 75 years not citizens of India? If not then who is responsible for creating such a situation? They have been used as vote bank for so long. Now after not recongnising them citizens for so long, the Centre is now talking about granting them citizenship. It is nothing but politics”.

TMC chief Kunal Ghosh, in keeping with Indian Express, echoed the identical sentiments. He mentioned that the centre was taking a discriminatory method in the direction of granting citizenship.

What Prime Minister Modi mentioned is a reality – that Hindus, Sikhs and different non-Muslim denominations had been persecuted after the partition in neighbouring Islamic nations and proceed to be persecuted until date. However, the opposition used this chance to hawk the identical harmful tropes and falsehoods about CAA that led to anti-Hindu violence in 2020 in Northeast Delhi.

What is the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)

The Citizenship Amendment Act is a legislation handed by the Indian Parliament that’s directed in the direction of offering citizenship rights to individuals who belong to minority religions within the neighboring Islamic international locations of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The Act additionally reduces the minimal time period required to remain in India earlier than making use of for citizenship by naturalization to 5 years as a substitute of 11 years. Thus, the legislation applies to Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs, Zoroastrians and Christians from the desired neighboring Islamic international locations.

This Amendment provides proviso in part 2, in sub-section (1), in clause (b) within the Citizenship Act, 1955. The Proviso reads as “Provided that any person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, who entered into India on or before the 31st day of December, 2014 and who has been exempted by the Central Government by or under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 or from the application of the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 or any rule or order made thereunder, shall not be treated as illegal migrant for the purposes of this Act.”

Further, new part 6B added within the Citizenship Act, 1955 states that on and from the date of graduation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, any continuing pending towards an individual underneath this part in respect of unlawful migration or citizenship shall stand abated on conferment of citizenship to him, supplied that such individual shall not be disqualified for making software for citizenship underneath this part on the bottom that the continuing is pending towards him and the Central Government or authority specified by it on this behalf shall not reject his software on that floor if he’s in any other case discovered certified for grant of citizenship underneath this part.

Further, it provides within the proviso that who makes the applying for citizenship underneath this part shall not be disadvantaged of his rights and privileges to which he was entitled on the date of receipt of his software on the bottom of creating such software.

The part 6B (4) provides that nothing on this part shall apply to the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram or Tripura as included within the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution and the realm coated underneath “The Inner Line” notified underneath the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.

It is pertinent to know that CAA is related just for Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian foreigners, who’ve migrated from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan into India as much as 31.12.2014, on account of persecution confronted by them because of their faith. It doesn’t apply to another foreigners, together with Muslims migrating to India from any nation, together with these three international locations.

The falsehoods peddled by TMC, CPM and Congress on CAA after PM Modi’s assertion

The widespread theme within the statements made by TMC, Congress and CPM leaders after PM Modi’s speech was that the central authorities was offering citizenship on the premise of faith and that the transfer was discriminatory. In reality, the CPM chief went a step forward and insinuated that CAA would in some way have an effect on the Muslim residents of India by asking if the folks dwelling on this nation for the previous 75 years weren’t residents in any respect.

These falsehoods have been debunked a number of occasions previously and it’s pertinent to notice that it’s these very falsehoods that led to mass violence towards Hindus in 2020. While opposition events peddle such tropes, it is very important do not forget that CAA doesn’t pertain to Indian Citizens in any respect and subsequently, to even ask the query concerning the citizenship standing of the folks (Muslims) dwelling on this nation for the previous 75 years.

It can also be disingenuous to say that CAA is discriminatory in any method. This is a legislation that goals to supply citizenship to these minority communities which have been persecuted by the bulk Muslim group in Islamic nations who got here to India as refugees up till thirty first December 2014. It has nothing to do with the traditional means of citizenship being granted – for instance – a Muslim can apply for citizenship in India too and he must undergo the traditional process for his software to be accepted.

The current authorized means of buying Indian citizenship by any foreigner of any class by way of Naturalization (Section 6 of the Citizenship Act) or by way of Registration (Section 5 of the Act) stays operational. The CAA doesn’t amend or alter it in any method in any way. Hundreds of Muslims migrating from these three international locations have been granted Indian citizenship throughout the previous couple of years.

If discovered eligible, all such future migrants shall additionally get Indian citizenship, regardless of their numbers or faith. In 2014, after the settlement of Indo- Bangladesh boundary points, 14,864 Bangladeshi residents got Indian Citizenship when their enclaves had been integrated into the territory of India. Thousands of those foreigners had been Muslims.

The core argument that was made towards the CAA was that the provisions don’t apply to the persecuted Shias, Ahmadiyya and Rohingya Muslims of the neighbouring international locations and therefore, it’s unconstitutional and ‘communal’. First and foremost, the legislation is devoted to offering aid to the victims of spiritual persecution. Shias, Ahmadiyya and Rohingya Muslims are Muslims; they’re all adherents of the Islamic religion. They solely belong to completely different sects inside Islam. Thus, the provisions of a legislation that’s devoted to offering aid to victims of spiritual persecution can, naturally, not apply to the mentioned Islamic sects.

It can also be a harmful recreation that’s being performed by the opposition provided that it was these very falsehoods that led to anti-Hindu Delhi Riots in 2020. There had been repeated tropes concerning the citizenship of Muslims being affected adversely because of CAA. The opposition had additionally unfold falsehoods saying that Muslims will ultimately be deported from the nation because of the mixture impact of CAA and NRC – despite the fact that NRC was solely a promise and never even a draft for nationwide NRC has been launched.

It is slightly regarding that even after the deaths of over 50 folks in an organised riot that aimed to “teach Hindus a lesson”, the exact same falsehoods that had been used to organise mass motion and violence towards Hindus in 2020 is being repeated once more.