Mr Modi's government defended the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act as a humanitarian gesture. He argues that the amendment only aims to extend citizenship to religious minorities fleeing persecution and would not be used against Indian citizens.
These rules will now allow minorities persecuted for religious reasons in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to acquire citizenship of our country, Interior Minister Amit Shah wrote on X.
India's main opposition Congress party questioned the announcement, saying the timing just before the elections is obviously designed to polarize the elections.
Human rights watchdog Amnesty India in a statement called the law discriminatory and said it goes against constitutional values of equality and international laws. on human rights. He said the law legitimizes discrimination based on religion and is exclusionary in its structure and intent.
India is home to 200 million Muslims, who constitute a significant minority group in a country of more than 1.4 billion people. They are scattered across almost all parts of India and have been the target of a series of attacks that took place during Narendra Modi's first takeover in 2014. p>
Critics say Prime Minister Modi's blatant silence on anti-Muslim violence has emboldened some of his most extremist supporters and enabled more hate speech against Muslims.
Mr. Modi is increasingly blending religion and politics in a formula that has deeply resonated with India's majority Hindu population. In January, he opened a Hindu temple on the site of a demolished mosque in the northern city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh state, honoring the ;his party's Hindu nationalist commitment.
Most polls suggest Mr Modi will win a majority in the general election, which is expected to take place next week. x27;here May.