India on Tuesday termed the comments made by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) as "neither accurate nor warranted".
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, in a statement said, the Bill that was passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday midnight, "provides expedited consideration for Indian citizenship to persecuted religious minorities already in India from certain contiguous countries".
He said the Bill "seeks to address their current difficulties and meet their basic human rights".
"Such an initiative should be welcomed, not criticized by those who are genuinely committed to religious freedom, " the statement said.
He said the CAB "does not affect the existing avenues available to all communities interested in seeking citizenship from doing so.
The recent record of granting such citizenship would bear out the Government of India's objectivity in that regard".
He clarified that neither the CAB nor the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process seeks to strip citizenship from any Indian citizen of any faith, and added that suggestions to that effect are "motivated and unjustified".
"Every nation, including the United States, has the right to enumerate and validate its citizenry, and to exercise this prerogative through various policies.
"The position articulated by USCIRF is not surprising given its past record.
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