PUNE: Around 120 current and former students of ILS Law College have said that they support the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). 

The students have stated in a release that the objective is to create awareness and that it does not snatch citizenship from anybody.

“It is an Act that has no provision whatsoever to snatch citizenship. It can only grant citizenship. An Act need not redress every social wrong, however, it is also imperative to work on other issues. CAA is an Act that ensures religious minorities who are being persecuted in the neighbouring countries are redressed. The Act is in the interest of human rights of several voiceless and powerless people and hence must be celebrated. We condemn the unprecedented violence and bloodshed that followed,” they stated. 
 
They added, “We also urge the government to publish simplified facts and narrow the gap between the executive and masses to prevent any further spread of falsity.”

“CAA is an Act which governs the provision of citizenship in India. CAA 2019 facilitates the citizenship procedure for persecuted religious minorities. Whereas NRC, when implemented, will be a record of legal citizens of India. There is no nexus between the two,” stated a student on the condition of anonymity.

“NRC in Assam was a Supreme Court direction and not a government action per se. The situation of Assam demanded that and it cannot be equated with the other parts of the country. Since the implementation was not as good, the government will probably take lessons from that. As of now, we are in no position to speculate because it still needs to be drafted,” the student added.