New Delhi: Press Information Bureau’s fact check wing has debunked a claim made by popular news agency Al Jazeera. As per the latest tweet posted by PIB, the claim made by AJ English about the CAA Act being “Anti-muslim” is false.

“Misinformation is being spread by @AJEnglish regarding the Citizenship Amendment Act, calling the act ‘anti-Muslim,” stated the fact check wing of PIB.

The government agency clarified further that “CAA will not take away the citizenship of any Indian citizen irrespective of religion. It’s not against any single religion/ community. It’s an enabling law only to provide citizenship to persecuted minorities from neighbouring countries – Afghanistan, Pakistan & Bangladesh.”

What Is CAA?

The Citizenship Amendment Act, CAA was introduced and passed in 2019. On March 11, 2024, five years after its introduction, the Home Ministry notified the rules of the act and its implementation.

Speaking at the ET Now Global Business Summit 2024, Hoem Minister Amit Shah stated that the CAA rules will come into effect weeks before the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 in April-May.

The act aims to provide Indian citizenship to persecuted non-mUslim migrants including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians, who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before December 31, 2014.

The CAA Act does not apply to Indian citizens as it seeks to grant Indian citizenship to particular foreigners who have suffered persecution on grounds of their religion in the three neighbouring countries.

The introduction of the law in 2019 led to nationwide protests. Thousands took to the streets to oppose the law. However, after its notification, the opposition has alleged that the ruling party has implemented CAA weeks before the elections with a “political agenda” in mind. Various states have opposed the law and Kerala, has become the first state to only say that it will not be implementing the CAA Act.