US body seeks sanctions against Amit Shah if CAB is passed

A federal US commission on international religious freedom has said that the Citizenship Amendment Bill is a “dangerous turn in the wrong direction” and sought American sanctions against Home Minister Amit Shah if the bill is passed by both houses of the Indian Parliament.

In a statement issued on Monday (December 9), the US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said that it was deeply troubled over the passage of the bill in Lok Sabha.

“If the CAB passes in both houses of parliament, the US government should consider sanctions against the Home Minister Amit Shah and other principal leadership,” the commission said and also tweeted the same.

USCIRF is deeply troubled by the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) in the Lok Sabha. The CAB enshrines a pathway to citizenship for immigrants that specifically excludes Muslims, setting a legal criterion for citizenship based on religion.https://t.co/E8DafI6HBH

— USCIRF (@USCIRF) December 9, 2019

According to the proposed legislation, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, till December 31, 2014 facing religious persecution there, will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.

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The controversial bill was passed in Lok Sabha on Monday (December 9)with 311 members favouring it and 80 voting against it. Shah asserted that the bill will give relief to those minorities who have been living a painful life after facing persecution in neighbouring countries.

The commission said: “USCIRF fears that the Indian government is creating a religious test for Indian citizenship that would strip citizenship from millions of Muslims”. It also said that for more than a decade now the Indian Government has ignored the statements and annual reports of the USCIRF. It is based on this ground that India for more than a decade now has denied visas to USCIRF to travel to India for their on the ground assessment of the religious freedom in India.

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Recommendations of USCIRF are not enforceable. However, its recommendations are seriously taken into consideration by the US Government which is tasked with powers to take sanctionable actions against foreign entities and individuals for violation of religious freedom and human rights.