Citizens need not fear CAA : Goa CM Sawant

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said that citizens need not worry about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act as it will not affect them. The assurance came in the backdrop of raging protest that has triggered violence in several parts of the nation against the amended Citizenship Act.

"Central government has passed the Citizenship Amendment Act. I would like to assure you all that no Hindu, Muslim or Christian in Goa should be worried about it," Sawant told ANI on the occasion of Goa Liberation Day parade here on Thursday.

He further appealed to people not to fall prey to misleading campaigns against the Act.

"As the Chief Minister of the State, I would like to assure you that the Act is not going to affect anyone in the State. It is my responsibility to protect the interest of each citizen of the state," Sawant added.

The Parliament had passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, last week and it became an Act after receiving assent from President Ram Nath Kovind. Since then, protests have erupted in various parts of the country.

The Act seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, and who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.