Malaysian PM's statement on Indian citizenship 'factually incorrect': MEA

The Hindu
Sun, 22 Dec 2019 04:59 UTC

© Reuters

MEA said that Malaysia should refrain from commenting on the internal developments of India

The External Affairs Ministry on Friday termed as "factually incorrect" remarks reportedly made by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's that India is taking action to deprive some Muslims of their citizenship.

The ministry also said Malaysia should refrain from commenting on the internal developments of India, especially without a right understanding of the facts.

After visiting the media centre at the Kuala Lumpur Summit on Friday, Mr. Mohamad had reportedly said,"I am sorry to see that India, which claims to be a secular state, is now taking action to deprive some Muslims of their citizenship."

Comment: This bill is has no impact on legal citizens of India. The Citizenship Amendment Act is aimed to create a legal frame work for the illegal immigrants with special provision to persecuted minorities of Muslim majority neighbors.

"If we do that here, you know what will happen. There will be chaos, there will be instability and everyone will suffer," he said.

Responding to Mr. Mohamad's reported remarks, the ministry in a statement said, "According to media reports, the Prime Minister of Malaysia has yet again remarked on a matter that is entirely internal to India."

"The Citizenship (Amendment) Act provides for citizenship through naturalization to be fast-tracked for non-citizens who are persecuted minorities from three countries (Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan)," it said.

Comment: India hosts largest number of illegal immigrants in the world. India hosts more than 20 million illegal immigrants who crossed into the country through thousands of kilometers of porous border.

The ministry said the Act does not impact in any manner on the status of any citizen of India, or deprive any Indian of any faith of her or his citizenship.

"Therefore, the Prime Minister of Malaysia's comment is factually inaccurate. We call upon Malaysia to refrain from commenting on internal developments in India, especially without a right understanding of the facts," it said.

On September 29, Mohamad had raised the Kashmir issue at the UN, alleging that India has "invaded and occupied" Jammu and Kashmir and asking New Delhi to work with Pakistan to resolve the issue.

Comment: Indian PM Modi summons ministers as death toll rises in ongoing protests against India citizenship act

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reportedly consult with his ministers about the security situation in India, following nationwide protests against a new citizenship law that have left up to seventeen people dead.

The turmoil over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will be a top agenda item when Modi meets with government officials on Saturday, an unnamed government official told Reuters.

The Indian government says the new citizenship law is aimed at protecting persecuted religious minorities from Muslim-majority Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Critics call the legislation discriminatory against Muslims. However, the Ministry of Home Affairs reassured on Thursday that CAA does not "target any religious community from abroad".

More than 20 people are killed in the violence related Citizenship Amendment Act that is passed by the Indian Parliament. 18 people were killed in the largest indian state of Uttar Pradesh(UP). UP police claimed that majority of deaths due to firing from protestors.

The Uttar Pradesh Police held anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protesters responsible for the death of 18 people in violence since Thursday. More than 1,000 rounds were fired by protestors, they claimed on Saturday.

Police said that 405 empty cartridges, fired by protesters, have been recovered till now. The autopsies of the 18 dead reveal that most of the deceased were hit by these country made bullets, they claimed.