Daily Times

Amidst the countrywide protests sweep India against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, Indian minister on Sunday claimed that the country has given citizenship to 2,838 Pakistani refugees in the past six years.

BJP’s leader and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was quoted as saying, “in the last six years, as many as 2838 Pakistani refugees, 914 Afghan refugees, 172 Bangladeshi refugees including Muslims have been given Indian citizenship.”

The minister, further, said, “It was also during the same period in 2016, that Adnan Sami was given Indian citizenship, this is an example. Giving citizenship to Taslima Nasreen is another example.”

Asserting that the government is not snatching away anyone’s citizenship, the BJP leader said: “This Citizenship (Amendment) Act is an attempt to provide people with a better life. We are not snatching away anyone’s citizenship, we are only providing them that.”

The Indian minister further said that the people who had migrated from the region formerly known as East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), are still residing in various camps across India.

“They are still there and it’s been 50-60 years now. If you visit these camps, your heart will cry. The situation is the same with Sri Lankan refugees who continue to live in camps. They’re barred from getting basic facilities,” she said.

It is pertinent to mention here, protests in India after implementation of the controversial citizenship law have become a major challenge for the Modi government.

The law offers fast-track citizenship to non-Muslim nationals from three neighbouring countries, is the latest strategy introduced by Modi-led BJP government that critics accuse of marginalising Muslims in the Hindu-majority nation.