MHA issues 2 video clips, saying CAA, NRC separate

The Home Ministry released two fresh video clips on Monday to dispel the "misinformation campaign" on the amended Citizenship Act, saying it is a lie that the law is connected with the NRC.

While the CAA has become law after being passed by Parliament and receiving the President's assent, there is no announcement on the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the modalities of the document are yet to be decided, one of the video clips said.

While one of the clips seeks to differentiate between "truth and lies" on the CAA and the NRC, the other one gives the viewpoint of the refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan getting benefitted from the new provisions granting them citizenship.

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is relevant only for the Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian foreigners, who migrated from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to India on account of persecution faced by them due to their religion, and it is a lie that it affects Indian Muslims, one of the video clips said.

"The CAA does not affect any Indian citizen, including Muslim citizens," it added.

Last week, the ministry had issued Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the CAA, which said all Indian citizens enjoy the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution and there is no change in it after the CAA.

"The CAA is not meant to deprive any Indian citizen of his citizenship. Rather it is a special law to enable certain foreigners facing a particular situation in three neighbouring countries to get Indian citizenship," the ministry had said.

It had clarified that Hindus facing persecution on the basis of religion in any other country other than Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan cannot apply under the CAA.

It had also said the CAA has nothing to do with the NRC.

"The legal provisions regarding NRC have been part of the Citizenship Act, 1955 since December, 2004. Also, there are specific statutory rules of 2003 to operationalise these legal provisions. They govern the process of registration of Indian citizens and issuance of national identity cards to them," the Home Ministry had said.

It had said these legal provisions have been on the statute books since the last 15-16 years and the CAA has not altered them in any way whatsoever.

The Home Ministry said appropriate rules under the CAA are being framed.

"They will operationalise various provisions of the CAA," it added.