New Delhi. PIB has clarified that the news published by ‘Al Jazeera’ regarding the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is false propaganda and misleading.
PIB’s Fact-Checking Department refuted the news spread by Qatar-based news organization ‘Al Jazeera’ on the Citizenship Amendment Act as ‘misleading’. The PIB clarified that ‘Al Jazeera’ attempted to portray the implementation of the CAA by the government as anti-Muslim.
PIB found that Al Jazeera published an article on ‘@AJEnglish’ with the title “India implements ‘anti-Muslim’ 2019 citizenship law weeks before election,” which was deemed fake and misleading.
Al Jazeera is spreading misinformation by labelling the CAA as ‘anti-Muslim’. Responding to this, the PIB clarified that the CAA will not revoke the citizenship of any Indian citizen based on religion. The CAA is not against any religion or community. The CAA is a law that grants citizenship only to persecuted minorities from neighbouring countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
What is Citizenship Amendment Act?
The Citizenship Amendment Act was introduced and passed in 2019. On March 11, 2024, the Ministry of Home Affairs notified the rules of the act and its implementation. This initiative follows the MHA’s notification of the Rules under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA-2019), which have been renamed the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024.
The act aims to provide Bharatiya citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants, including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians, who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in Bharat before December 31, 2014. This law will help those who have been suffering for decades to live with dignity in society.
Those eligible under Section 6B can apply for citizenship online.
The CAA does not apply to Bharatiya citizens as it seeks to grant Bharatiya citizenship to particular foreigners who have suffered persecution on grounds of their religion in the three neighbouring countries.
CAA can protect cultural, linguistic, and social identity. Economic and commercial needs and rights of free movement and purchase of property will be guaranteed