Have reached out to US Congress members, other stakeholders on Citizenship (Amendment) Bill: MEA

The government has reached out to the members of the US Congress and other stakeholders to share its perspective on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.

The US House Foreign Affairs Committee had voiced concerns over the bill, noting that any religious test for citizenship undermines pluralism, which is one of the core shared values for both India and the United States.

Asked about the panel's observation, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the government of India's views on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill has already been articulated in Parliament.

"We have reached out to the members of the US Congress, we have reached out to other stakeholders to share our perspective on the bill," he said.

"We feel that given our strong engagement with the Congress and other stakeholders in the US on matters of mutual interest, we expect that the members of the US Congress will take into account our views before drawing a conclusion on the bill," he added.

House Foreign Affairs Committee had tweeted on Monday, "Religious pluralism is central to the foundations of both India and the United States and is one of our core shared values".

"Any religious test for citizenship undermines this most basic democratic tenet," it had said.

Sources said Indian missions will apprise various countries about the bill.

Completing the legislative process for giving Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, the contentious bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. The Lok Sabha had cleared it on Monday.