Centre was prepared to handle CAA fallout, say reports

The Centre was well prepared to deal with any negative fallout of the Citizenship Amendment Act right when it was presented as a Bill in Parliament.

The Indian Express reported that an inter-ministerial meeting in New Delhi discussed strategies to deal with all scenarios two weeks ahead of the Bill being moved in parliament.

The Ministry of External affairs was also copied on this and all envoys were asked to brief other governments if they were keen to listen.

The Indian Express report said ambassador ‘were sent all facts’ and the note explained the rationale behind the decision. One void which was pointed out was that the envoys were not briefed on the CAA. The report said, “

The government contended that the ambassadors would be able to do the job well, the Indian Express quoted sources as saying.

India’s then ambassador to the US and now Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had had briefed key people in Washington, the government cited.

Recently, the envoys and ambassadors had reportedly told the ministry that the country could lose friends due to the hard stance on CAA and allied issues.