Addressing the Indian community at the Asia Society, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said the Citizenship Act amendment is not anti-Muslim.
The law aims to help minorities such as Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, Buddhists and Jains, who are fleeing from persecution in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
He said Muslims are not included in the group because these are ‘Islamic’ countries. Muslims do not face religious persecution there. “Maybe they face some other persecution but not religious persecution because the religion of that state is Islam.
That is why, we didn't include Muslims.”
Ambassador Harsh Vardhan Shringla and Consul General in New York Sandeep Chakravorty welcomed Singh, who is in the US for the US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in Washington scheduled for tomorrow.
Singh further noted, “we do not discriminate on the basis of caste, creed or religion. Our culture does not teach us to hate. I consider every Muslim living in India as my brother, as my family member. If anyone can tell me that the CAB is anti-Muslim, then we will rethink about it.” Just creating problems over the issue will not work. He said the situation in Assam and Bengal is under control.
He spoke on various subjects including the abrogation of Article 370, the Triple Talaq bill and India's response to terrorism from Pakistan.
With the induction of Rafale fighter jets in the air force, India can eliminate terror camps in Pakistan without crossing in to that country, he said. He said if India wanted, it could have attacked the military establishments and civilian areas in Pakistan but that would have resulted in a lot of casualties. But we took precaution and decided that we have to target and eliminate only those places where there are terror training camps.
He also spoke about the global economic slowdown. “I also accept that there is global economic slowdown and India is also impacted by it to some extent. But I can say with full confidence that India will come out of this difficult situation in only few months’ time.”
The government has taken several major steps and announced economic packages to boost economic growth.
He also praised the Indian community for the success of the Howdy Modi event. "I want to give the biggest credit for the Howdy Modi event in Houston to you - members of the Indian-American community. I want to give you the credit for the success of the event because if you had not created an identity, established your credibility, prestige and repute for yourselves in America, then the Howdy Modi event would not have happened.
Singh said when he learnt that the Indian-origin Sundar Pichai was named to head Alphabet, Google’s parent company, his chest swelled with pride and became a 56-inch chest, to the applause of the audience
By 2022, there should not be even a single family in India without a concrete roof on its head. More than eight crore families in India have been provided with cooking gas cylinders and today more than 700 districts are open-defecation free. This is not a small achievement, he said
