Hardeep Puri targets opposition on CAA after Afghan Sikhs, Hindus brought to India

After a number of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus were brought to India from Afghanistan, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday sought to underline the significance of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and targeted those who had opposed the legislation.

Addressing a press conference, the minister said a total of 626 people, including 228 Indian citizens, have been evacuated from Afghanistan till now.

The number of Afghan Sikhs, who have been evacuated from Afghanistan, is 77, he said.

''Those who were opposing the enactment of the CAA are today demanding that its cut off date should be extended from 2014 to 2021,'' Puri told reporters without naming anyone.

Earlier in the day, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, urging him to consider amending the CAA to cover Sikhs and Hindus of Afghanistan who have taken refuge in India.

''Requesting @AmitShah ji and Government of India for necessary amendments in CAA to cover Sikhs and Hindus of Afghanistan who have taken refuge in 2020 and 2021,'' the SAD leader tweeted along with his letter to Shah.

India has taken ''a humanitarian step'' by supporting minorities of Afghanistan and it would be great to help them by granting Indian citizenship, he also said.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, which came into force from January 10, 2020, witnessed widespread protests across the country with Delhi emerging as a hub of resistance against the legislation.

Most of the Opposition parties vociferously protested against the Citizenship Amendment Bill, introduced in Parliament by the Modi government, alleging it was ''communal'' in nature.

The CAA grants citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on the ground of religious persecution faced by them in their native country.

Earlier, Puri and Union minister V Muraleedharan received three copies of Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib and 44 Afghan Sikhs who reached India from Kabul via Dushanbe in Tajikistan on a special Air India flight.

''Today, three Guru Granth Sahib swaroop were brought. It was personally an emotional and a moving experience to me as a Sikh to be able to pay obeisance,'' Puri said.

''Sewadars, who were brought to India, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and 'Mother India' that we were able to provide sanctuary and comfort to people in distress, particularly to Hindus and Sikhs,'' he added.

Thousands of Afghans have been crowding around the Kabul airport for nearly a week, in a desperate attempt to flee the country fearing the Taliban's brutality.

India is carrying out the evacuation missions in coordination with the US and several other friendly countries.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)