The United States (US) has threatened Indian government officials with sanctions for failing to list Muslims among ‘persecuted’ minorities, RT reported.
According to the details, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has claimed that it was “deeply troubled” by the citizenship bill, which passed the Indian parliament’s lower house, the Lok Sabha, in a 311-80 vote, calling it nothing short of a “religious test for Indian citizenship” which “excludes Muslims.”
The commission said, “The United States government should consider sanctions against the home minister and other principal leadership if the bill passes”, insisting that it knows how Indian internal politics works best.
Dubbed the Citizenship Amendment Bill, the new law will fast-track Indian citizenship for immigrants facing religious discrimination in several neighboring countries.
The bill provides that Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians fleeing persecution in Muslim-majority Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan can be granted citizenship of India but there are no similar provisions for Muslim refugees.
Indian Home Minister Amit Shah, who introduced the law, has rejected the US butting into India’s internal affairs, insisting the bill is solely intended to protect those facing persecution.
The bill also has backing from Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, who, like Shah, belongs to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Meanwhile, PM Imran Khan has strongly condemned controversial legislation passed by the Indian Parliament, terming the move as “part of the RSS Hindu Rashtra design of expansionism propagated by the fascist Modi government.”.
“We strongly condemn Indian Lok Sabha citizenship legislation which violates all norms of international human rights law and bilateral agreements with Pakistan,” PM Imran tweeted on Monday.
The USCIRF was earlier established in 1998 to monitor and evaluate religious freedoms in other countries and to make policy recommendations to the US president, the State Department and the House of Representatives – routinely calling for sanctions against those countries who don’t live up to American standards.
The commission had earlier placed India on a “watch list” in 2009 over what it said were “largely inadequate” protections for minorities.
