India dismisses US concern about citizenship amendment act

NEW DELHI (Reuters): Comments by the United States expressing concern about India’s implementation of a contentious citizenship law based on religion are “misplaced, misinformed, and unwarranted”, the foreign ministry of the South Asian nation said on Friday.

India’s move this week sparked sporadic protests, with critics, including Muslims groups and opposition parties, saying the law was discriminatory and undermined the country’s secular constitution.

In a statement, the U.S. State Department said it was “concerned” about the notification of the law, citing “respect for religious freedom and equal treatment” as a fundamental democratic principle.

 “We are of the view that it is misplaced, misinformed, and unwarranted,” Randhir Jaiswal, a spokesperson for India’s Foreign Ministry, said on Friday, in response to the U.S. statement.

“Lectures by those who have a limited understanding of India’s pluralistic traditions and the region’s post-partition history are best not attempted,” he added.

The reference was to the colonial-era division of the subcontinent at the time of independence from Britain in 1947.

There were no grounds for concern about the treatment of minorities, Jaiswal said, adding, “Votebank politics should not determine views about a laudable initiative to help those in distress.”

The Indian law provides a fast-track for citizenship to persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, Buddhists, Jains and Christians who have fled to India from neighbouring countries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has earlier defended the law, known as the Citizenship Amendment Act, saying it will benefit the victims of years of such persecution in India’s neighbours.

In addition to the United States, the United Nations expressed concern about the law’s implementation, which comes ahead of general elections due by May at which Modi will seek a rare third term.