New Delhi, India

The Indian government on Tuesday (Mar 12) said that the newly implemented Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) does not curtail the opportunity and freedom of Indian Muslims and that Muslims from anywhere in the world are free to seek Indian citizenship. 

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"Muslims from anywhere in the world can seek Indian citizenship under Section 6 of the Citizenship Act, which deals with citizenship by naturalisation," said the Home Ministry.

Meanwhile, the opposition has termed the CAA discriminatory and said that it has been introduced by the government since the Lok Sabha elections are coming up. 

On Monday, the government notified the rules for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act which reduced the qualification period for citizenship application for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from 11 to 5 years. 

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The application is for those who were staying in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and came to India before December 31, 2014. 

The Ministry of Home Affairs emphasised that the Act "does not prevent any Muslim, who is persecuted in those Islamic countries (Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan) for practising their version of Islam, from applying for Indian citizenship under the existing laws".

"CAA does not cancel the naturalisation laws. Therefore, any person, including Muslim migrants from any foreign country, seeking to be an Indian citizen, can apply for the same under the existing laws," the ministry added.

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Also Read: India: Opposition slams decision after Centre notifies CAA rules ahead of polls

"Indian Muslims need not worry as CAA has not made any provision to impact their citizenship and has nothing to do with the present 18 crore Indian Muslims, who have equal rights like their Hindu counterparts," stated the ministry. 

Quashing the fear that the law can be used for declaring some as illegal immigrants and snatching away their Indian citizenship, the ministry said that the law is required to help minorities facing persecution in Muslim-majority nations according to the "evergreen generous culture of India to get Indian citizenship for their happy and prosperous future".

"No Indian citizen would be asked to produce any document to prove citizenship", said the ministry. It further said that the Citizenship Act is not related to the deportation of illegal immigrants. 

"Therefore, the concern of a section of the people including Muslims and students that CAA is against Muslim minorities is unjustifiable," it said.

Actor Thalapathy Vijay appeals against implementation of CAA in Tamil Nadu 

Tamil actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Thalapathy Vijay slammed the Centre for the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

“It is not acceptable to implement any law like the Indian Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (CAA) in an environment where all citizens of the country live with social harmony,” said the actor in his statement which was translated from Tamil. 

Watch: India Elections 2024: Will the CAA implementation polarise Indian voters?

He further appealed to the Tamil Nadu government to ensure that the law is not implemented in the southern state.

"The leaders should ensure that this law does not get implemented in Tamil Nadu," the statement added.

(With inputs from agencies)