In its statement, the USCIRF alleged that the CAB specifically excludes Muslims and lays down a legal criterion for grant of Indian citizenship on religion basis

New Delhi: India has slammed a federal US commission for calling the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, passed by the Lok Sabha past midnight on Monday, as a "dangerous turn in the wrong direction". The US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) had also called for American sanctions against Home Minister Amit Shah and other senior leadership of the Government of India if the Bill with the "religious criterion" was cleared by both houses of Indian Parliament.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the USCIRF statement on CAB was neither accurate nor warranted. The MEA spokesperson clarified that neither the Bill nor the National Register of Citizens, which the Narendra Modi government plans to implement across the country, seeks to strip citizenship from any Indian citizen of any faith.

“The Statement made by the USCIRF on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is neither accurate nor warranted. The Bill provides expedited consideration for Indian citizenship to persecuted religious minorities already in India from certain contiguous countries. It seeks to address their current difficulties and meet their basic human rights. Such an initiative should be welcomed, not criticised by those who are genuinely committed to religious freedom,” Kumar said in a statement.

“Neither the CAB nor the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process seeks to strip citizenship from any Indian citizen of any faith. Suggestions to that effect are motivated and unjustified. Every nation, including the United States, has the right to enumerate and validate its citizenry, and to exercise this prerogative through various policies,” he added.

The MEA made it clear that the USCIRF had no locus standi on the matter and that its past record explains the commission’s statement on CAB.

“The position articulated by USCIRF is not surprising given its past record. It is, however, regrettable that the body has chosen to be guided only by its prejudices and biases on a matter on which it clearly has little knowledge and no locus standi," Kumar stated.

In its statement, the USCIRF alleged that the CAB specifically excludes Muslims and lays down a legal criterion for grant of Indian citizenship on religion basis.

"The CAB is a dangerous turn in the wrong direction; it runs counter to India's rich history of secular pluralism and the Indian Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law regardless of faith," it said.