CAA Could Be Misused by Infiltrators, NRC Will Deprive Many Indian Muslims of Citizenship: Amarinder Singh in Open Letter to Ravi Shankar Prasad

New Delhi, January 3: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday wrote an open letter to Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, expressing his concerns regarding the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). In the open letter, Amarinder Singh said that infiltrators could misuse the Citizenship Amendment Act and the NRC clubbed-with CAA has the potential to affect the citizenship status of Indian Muslims. Why Citizenship Amendment Act+NRC Raise Fear And Concerns: A Multi-Dimensional Take.

"The language of the CAA does even require that any illegal migrant seeking its benefit need not be of Indian origin in any manner. All they have to be is from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. This could be a citizen or even a resident or even a temporary person in transit through these countries. Since the CAA has no requirement of being of Indian origin or having to prove any such origins, this means that any person claiming to be the six religions could simply apply in terms of the amended law, prove entry on/before the cut-off date and be eligible for citizenship," Singh wrote. CAB Passage Jolts Northeast: Why Assam and Neighbouring States Are Up in Protest Against Citizenship Amendment Bill.

"This could in fact be misused for infiltration into our country, particularly in the border states, converting this misguided legislation into a national security threat," he added. On the NRC, the Congress leader stated: "There is a fear that the NRC will be implemented throughout the country, on which conflicting statement have been emerging from the Government of India, which generates no confidence whatsoever. This, which when read along with the CAA would automatically deprive many (if not all) Indian Muslims of the rights of citizenship."

Singh further hit out at Prasad for downplaying the resolution passed by Kerala assembly against the CAA. "While you aggressively defend the CAA by insisting that only Parliament under Article 245 has the legislative power to pass laws as regards Citizenship, and not the State Governments, I am afraid you have entirely missed the point of the resolution passed by the Kerala Legislative Assembly. It has not passed any citizenship law. It urges the Government of India (through Parliament where it now has a majority) to amend the CAA," he said.

"The passing of a resolution by the Legislative Assembly represents the will and wisdom of persons spoken through, legally and validly, their elected representatives. Such MLAs represent the voice of the people at large. It is not only a matter of Parliamentary privilege but the constitutional duty of those representatives, to make known such views. The resolution is a medium of such voice of the people they represent," the Chief Minister added.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 03, 2020 03:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).