Published 19:39 IST, January 23rd 2020
Anand Mahindra calls CAA 'inoffensive', says reaction to Act is 'difficult to understand'
Chairman of Mahindra group speaking on the sidelines of WEF, suggested that some of the 'reaction to the Act is unfathomable' and a little bit 'overdone'.
- India News
- 2 min read
Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra has backed the Central Government's Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), saying that it is 'inoffensive' and the reaction it has received is difficult to understand.
Mahindra backs CAA
In an interview with Bloomberg on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mahindra said, "The amendment by itself is completely inoffensive. If you look at it as the Government has been saying - you cannot argue with them on this - it is about letting the minorities from certain surrounding countries in as refugees, it has been a long-standing demand. Even in India, people are confused with what to make of this because protests in Assam had nothing to do with the protests elsewhere in the country. The Assamese, in fact, were against any kind of acceptance of new citizens since they felt that they had been facing the influx of migrants for a long time. I think it has caused insecurity, which frankly, is a little overdone."
Citing American laws, Mahindra said India is only trying to manage its borders, just like other countries in the world. "I believe in America there is a law known as the Lautenberg Amendment which is very similar and if you look around the world, everybody is trying to manage their borders. Somehow, the mix has been a little unfortunate. and has resulted in a kind of reaction which is a little bit difficult to understand."
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed the Parliament in December but has received heavy opposition from leaders of other political parties and the public at large. The Act is termed as 'anti-poor' or even 'anti-Muslim' by a certain number of politicians. Certain states such as Kerala have already passed. motion to disallow the Act from being implemented in the State.
Updated 19:39 IST, January 23rd 2020