Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi (SHP)

New Delhi, Jan 7: Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday said that minorities in the country have nothing to fear from the Citizenship Amendment Act, and the ongoing protests were the result of 'fearmongering' by certain elements. Puri asserted that CAA and NRC were two separate elements and that as per Modi, plans to implement nationwide NRC was denied.

"A false narrative is being created on something like the Citizenship Amendment Act," he said in an interview with NDTV. Further, he claimed that the law was intended only to provide refuge to persecuted minorities from neighbouring countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

"The first important thing to remember about the CAA is that it does not discriminate against anyone, it does not take anyone's rights away. By linking it with NRC, people have created that fear," he maintained. Puri assured that the Muslims residing in the country will not have their rights taken away from them.

"You can believe the PM because he is the boss," he added.

The Citizenship Amendment Act, for the first time, makes religion the test of citizenship in India. While the government says it will help persecuted minorities from three Muslim-dominated countries get citizenship, critics say it violates the secular principles of the constitution.

Condemning the attack at JNU violence, Puri claimed that the matter was ambiguous and that there was more than what was shown on media. "There was one incident that all television channels had on last evening, but trouble has been brewing there for a while," Puri said.