Citizenship of all Indians is safe, says Union Minister Naqvi

BJP leader and Union Minister of Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Sunday said that misinformation is being spread around the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and stressed that the citizenship of all Indians is safe.

"Misinformation is being spread that Indian Muslims will be made to leave under this law. The law is not applicable to any Indian citizen," said the Minister.

"The Congress and the people who are opposing the Bill should let us know as to how many Pakistani Muslims they want to give citizenship to. They should make a list. If someone wants Indian Citizenship, then there is a provision in the 1955 Citizenship Act," he added.

He reiterated that the citizenship of Indians is not under any threat and said, "Citizenship of all Indian Muslims is safe, and till the time Modi ji is in power, the citizenship of any Indian will not come into question. It never did, it never will."

Responding to controversial remarks made by several BJP leaders in the run-up to Delhi Assembly elections, the Minister said, "We do not believe in 'goli' (bullet), we believe in 'boli' (dialogue). We don't want to turn the country into Shaheen Bagh, instead, we want to turn it into 'Shanti Bagh'. The women who are protesting at Shaheen Bagh are being misled. We fought Delhi elections on issues concerning development, not Shaheen Bagh."

Protests erupted in various parts of the country, including Shaheen Bagh area of Delhi, after Parliament gave its nod to the Citizenship Amendment Bill in December last year.

The CAA grants citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist and Christian immigrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.