Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Friday criticised India’s Citizenship (Amendment) Act and said people “are dying because of this law”, prompting New Delhi to dismiss his remarks as factually inaccurate.
Talking to reporters on the margins of the Kuala Lumpur Summit, Mahathir questioned the “necessity” of the CAA when people of different faiths have “lived together for 70 years” in India.
“I am sorry to see that India, which claims to be a secular state, now is taking action to deprive some Muslims of their citizenship,” the 94-year-old leader said.
“People are dying because of this law. Why is there a necessity to do this when all the while, for 70 years, they have lived together as citizens without any problem?” he asked.
The external affairs ministry said in a statement that Mahathir had “yet again remarked on a matter that is entirely internal to India” — a reference to the Malaysian premier’s earlier criticism of India’s decision to scrap Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.
New Delhi had strongly criticised Mahathir’s remarks at the UN General Assembly in September that Kashmir had been “invaded and occupied”.
The statement said the CAA provides for fast-tracked citizenship for non-citizens from persecuted minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. “The act does not impact in any manner on the status of any citizen of India, or deprive any Indian of any faith of her or his citizenship,” it said.
“Therefore, the Prime Minister of Malaysia’s comment is factually inaccurate. We call upon Malaysia to refrain from commenting on internal developments in India, especially without a right understanding of the facts,” it added.