There are many misunderstanding about NRC and Citizenship Act.
Does the CAA affect any Indian citizen?
No, it has absolutely nothing to do with any Indian citizen in any way. The Indian citizens enjoy fundamental rights conferred on them by the Constitution of India. No statute, including the CAA can abridge or take them away. There has been a mis-information campaign. The CAA does not affect any Indian citizen, including Muslim citizens.
How does it benefit Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian foreigners hailing from these three countries?
If their travel documents like passport and visa are not in order or are not available, they can apply for Indian citizenship if they were persecuted back home. The CAA creates this legal right for such migrants.
Does this mean that Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan can never get Indian citizenship?
No, the present legal process of acquiring Indian citizenship by any foreigner of any category through Naturalization (Section 6 of the Citizenship Act) or through Registration (Section 5 of the Act) stays operational. The CAA does not amend or alter it in any manner whatsoever. Hundreds of Muslims migrating from these three countries have been granted Indian citizenship during the last few years. If found eligible, all such future migrants shall also get Indian citizenship, irrespective of their numbers or religion. In 2014, after the settlement of Indo-Bangladesh boundary issues, 14,864 Bangladeshi citizens were given the Indian Citizenship when their enclaves were incorporated into the territory of India. Thousands of these foreigners were Muslims.
Will illegal Muslim immigrants from these three countries be deported under the CAA?
No, the CAA has absolutely nothing to do with deportation of any foreigner from India. The deportation process of any foreigner irrespective of his religion or country is implemented as per the mandate of the Foreigners Act, 1946 and/or The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920. These two laws govern entry, stay, movement within India and exit from India of all foreigners irrespective of their religion or country.
Therefore, the usual deportation process would apply to any illegal foreigner staying in India. It is a well-considered judicial process which is based on a proper enquiry by the local police or administrative authorities to detect an illegal foreigner. It is ensured that such an illegal foreigner has been issued proper travel document by the embassy of his country so that he can be duly received by officials of his country when he is deported.
The CAA will gradually exclude Indian Muslims from the citizenship of India?
The CAA does not apply to any Indian citizen at all. All Indian citizens enjoy the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India. CAA is not meant to deprive any Indian citizen of his citizenship. Rather it is a special law to enable certain foreigners facing a particular situation in three neighboring countries to get Indian citizenship.
CAA will be followed by NRC and all migrants except Muslims will be given citizenship and Muslims will be sent to detention camps?
The CAA has nothing to do with NRC. The legal provisions regarding NRC have been part of The Citizenship Act, 1955 since December, 2004. Also, there are specific statutory rules of 2003 to operationalise these legal provisions. They govern the process of registration of Indian citizens and issuance of national identity cards to them. These legal provisions have been on the statute books since last 15-16 years. The CAA has not altered them in any way whatsoever.
Source:
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/qa-ministry-of-home-affairs-answers-questions-on-citizenship-amendment-act-2019/articleshow/72847140.cms
