A federal US Commission on religious freedom saidthat the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) is a "dangerous turn in the wrongdirection" and seeks American sanctions against Union Home Minister Amit Shahif the Bill is passed by both the houses of the Parliament.
The proposed legislation seeks to grant eligibilityto members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities whohave come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014,facing religious persecution for Indian citizenship.
In a statement issued by the US Commission forInternational Religious Freedom (USCIRF), it was deeply troubled over thepassage of the bill in the Lok Sabha.
The Commission further stated that if CAB is passedin both the houses of parliament, the US government should consider sanctionsagainst the Home Minister Amit Shah and other principal leadership.
The statement further reads as, "USCIRF is deeplytroubled by the passage of the CAB, originally introduced by Shah, in the LokSabha given the religion criterion in the bill."
The contentious bill has been introduced by theunion home minister, where it was passed with 311 members favouring it and 80voting against it, will now be tabled in the Rajya Sabha for its nod.
Shah while introducing the bill clarified that peoplebelonging to any religion should not have any fear under Prime MinisterNarendra Modi government and asserted the bill will give relief to thoseminorities who have been living a painful life after facing persecution inneighbouring countries.
The home minister said the bill has the "endorsementof 130 crore Indian citizens" and rejected fears that the measure isanti-Muslims, saying it will give rights to persecuted minorities fromPakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
"Citizenship amendment bill has the endorsementof 130 crore citizens of the country as it was the part of the BJP manifesto in2014 as well as 2019 Lok Sabha elections," he said.
It has been alleged by USCIRF that the CAB enshrinesa pathway to citizenship for immigrants that specifically excludes Muslims,setting a legal criterion for citizenship based on religion.
It further stated that the CAB is a dangerous turnin the wrong direction; it runs counter to India's rich history of secularpluralism and the Indian Constitution, which guarantees equality before the lawregardless of faith.
