Agree To Disagree : U.S. Criticism Of CAA ‘Misinformed”, India Firmly Rejects The Comments

The US State department’s critisism of the Citizenship Amendment Act has got both the US and the Indian governments at logerheads. The US State Department previously expressed its “concern” regarding the notification of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in India and stated that it is “closely monitoring” the implementation of the act.

Following the US’ comments on the CAA, the Ministry of External Affairs vehemently objected to them, describing the remarks as “misplaced, misinformed, and unwarranted. “MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, during a weekly press briefing, said that those having a “limited understanding of India’s pluralistic traditions” should not comment on India’s ‘internal matters’

The US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, stated that religious freedom is a part of a healthy democracy but sometimes New Delhi and Washington can “agree to disagree” on certain things and it should not be read negatively.

“We have a deep friendship. It’s very respectful. Sometimes we can agree to disagree on things and continue with our business, and we shouldn’t take it with thin skin. We shouldn’t take it personally. Certainly, I open up the United States, I say all the time, from a place of humility. We have a tonne of flaws. We’re open to criticism. We want to listen,” Garcetti said.

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The US ambassador also expressed that even US has a “ton of flaws” and is open to constructive critisism, and emphasised that it is important to find common international law that blends with a countries particular history.

The Union Home Ministry issued rules for implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on March 11, just before the Lok Sabha election schedule was announced. The CAA rules, passed by Parliament in 2019 under the Narendra Modi government, aim to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014. These rules allow eligible individuals under the CAA-2019 to apply for Indian citizenship through an online portal provided by the government.