Owaisi counters Hardeep Puri's Afghan crisis CAA pitch; cites applicability only till 2014

Retaliating to Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri's 'necessary to enact CAA' comment, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday said that the law was just confined to 'undocumented immigrants' who entered India before 2014, and added that it would not have helped those entering the country now with proper visas. He went on to ask Hardeep Singh Puri if he had not read the law the BJP government had enacted or was just trying to mislead the people of the country with such statements.

Owaisi retaliates to Hardeep Singh Puri's 'necessary to enact CAA' comment

Asaduddin Owaisi then went on to highlight, what he believed would have actually helped in the Afghanistan situation- a religion-neutral law. " Such a law would have not only helped these minorities, but also those Afghans who were working with us in our 4 consulates," the AIMIM supremo wrote, outlining, however, that it was too much for the 'religion-obsessed sarkar'.

Union Minister Hardeep Singh on Sunday asserted that the current situation is "a perfect example of enacting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the country". Citing the deteriorating security situations in Afghanistan, Puri took to Twitter, and wrote, "Recent developments in our volatile neighborhood & the way Sikhs & Hindus are going through a harrowing time are precisely why it was necessary to enact the Citizenship Amendment Act."

What is CAA?

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act amends the previous Citizenship Act 1955 to make refugees who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, eligible for citizenship.  Moreover, the Bill exempts the inner line permit areas in Nagaland, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh and areas falling under the Sixth Schedule in the regions. It will be applicable to the members of these communities having arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014. 

Moreover, it also relaxes the terms of naturalized citizenship, from the original 14 years to five years. Anyone belonging to the above-mentioned six religions and three countries can apply for citizenship after residing in India for the stipulated five years. The Act also allows cancellation of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders' citizenship if they violate any law, including minor offences like parking violations. The Supreme Court is yet to hear the 150 pleas challenging the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) after it refused to stay its implementation.

Protests against CAA-NRC-NPR which began in Assam spread throughout the country, culminating in the Delhi riots in February 2020, where 54 were killed.  Violent protests were witnessed in Uttar Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Gujarat, Karnataka, Bihar, Delhi, and Maharashtra. While thousands were detained by the police throughout the country, over 100 people have died in these protests. Several universities  - Jamia Millia, Aligarh, Madras University witnessed clashes between police and students which resulted in alleged lathi-charging, tear gas and rubber pellet action by police and vandalism by protestors. The biggest protest was held by Muslim women in Delhi's Shaheen Bagh which was disrupted due to the Delhi riots.