CAA may threaten rights of Muslims in India: US Congress report
Washington: A report issued by the independent research wing of the US Congress has said that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) may threaten the rights of Muslims in India and the controversial law’s key provisions may violate certain provisions of the country’s constitution.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the brief report ‘In Focus’ by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) said, “The CAA’s key provisions — allowing immigrants of six religions from three countries a path to citizenship while excluding Muslims — may violate certain Articles of the Indian Constitution”. The anti-Muslim CAA came into effect in March this year.
The CRS is an independent research wing of the US Congress that prepares reports on issues of interest to the members of Congress so that they can make informed decisions.
The three-page report stated, “In tandem with a National Register of Citizens (NRC) planned by the federal government, the CAA may threaten the rights of India’s large Muslim minority of roughly 200 million”.
Opponents of the act warn that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are pursuing a Hindu majoritarian, anti-Muslim agenda that threatens India’s status as an officially secular republic and violates international human rights norms and obligations, the report said.
“Some Members of Congress have expressed related concerns, including in the 118th Congress, where House Resolution 542 would condemn human rights violations and violations of international religious freedom in India, and Senate Resolution 424, which seeks a swift end to the persecution of, and violence against, religious minorities and human rights defenders in India, and which urges New Delhi to amend discriminatory laws such as the CAA,” said the report.
