Claiming that the Citizenship Amendment Act will not strip anyone's citizenship, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said a part of India's youth is being misled about the legislation.
Narendra Modi made the statement while addressing an event at Belur Math in Howrah district of Kolkata on Sunday, reports The Times of India.
"There are a lot of questions among the youth about the new citizenship law, and some are being misled by rumours around it. It is our duty to clear their doubts," the Indian premier said.
Modi also said anyone who has faith in India and believes in its Constitution can become an Indian citizen.
"I want to make this clear again that the CAA is not about taking away anybody's citizenship, but about granting citizenship," he added.
West Bengal: Students' Federation of India protests against PM Narendra Modi's visit to Kolkata. PM Modi will be on a two-day official visit to Kolkata from today, where he will take part in various programmes including 150th anniversary celebrations of Kolkata Port Trust. #CAA pic.twitter.com/F0crHgW6hc
— ANI (@ANI) January 11, 2020
According to the Times of India, Prime Minister Modi asserted that people with political agenda were purposely spreading rumours about the new citizenship law.
He also praised the rising generation of India for speaking against religious persecution of minorities, saying that they are ones who will bring a basis of change in the 21st century.
Modi meets Mamata
Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a two-day visit in Kolkata on January 11, and met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee upon his arrival there.
The meeting at the Raj Bhavan came amid a bitter face-off between Modi's BJP and Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) over the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that has triggered massive protests across India, reports NDTV.
Demonstrators hold a banner and placards during a protest against the visit of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the state and against a new citizenship law, in Kolkata, India, January 11, 2020 | Reuters"It was a courtesy call since he has come to Bengal. I told the Prime Minister that people of the state are not accepting the CAA, NRC [National Register of Citizens] and NPR [National Population Register]. I asked him to rethink these steps," Ms Banerjee said.
CAA comes into effect amid protests
The Indian Central government said the provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Act were to come into force on Friday (January 10), in an official notification, reports Scroll.in.
The Citizenship Amendment Act, approved by Parliament on December 11 and signed into law by President Ram Nath Kovind on December 13, provides citizenship to refugees from six minority religious communities from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, provided they have lived in India for six years and entered the country by December 31, 2014. The Act has been widely criticized for excluding Muslims.
Massive protest continues in various parts of #Kolkata and Bengal against Modi's visit to Kolkata.
— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) January 11, 2020
People unitedly took to the street with Black Flags and placards condemning divisive agenda of #CAA_NRC_NPR.#GoBackModiFromBengal pic.twitter.com/oD4UPFPSJ0
At least 26 people died in last month’s protests against the citizenship law. Of these, 19 died in Uttar Pradesh, five in Assam and two in Karnataka. The protests began at the Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi, then spread to other prominent colleges and to the streets.
