Harish Salve (Pic Via Twitter)Renowned Supreme Court advocate Harish Salve said that he fails to understand why the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is being "condemned as discriminatory”, reports Moneycontrol.
Notably, Salve represented India at the International Court of Justice in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case and got the verdict in favour of India.
Protest against CAA turned violent in North-East part of the national capital which has so far taken lives of over 50 people.
Expressing his opinion through a editorial piece in The Times Of India titled ‘CAA is necessary’, Salve has argued that the CAA is neither discriminatory nor unconstitutional. Salve said, “Those who enter a country without its permission are illegal citizens and are liable to be deported.”
He further added, “I fail to understand how a law which is designed to confer the benefit on an identified class of persons, and which identification is based on a rational criterion, can be condemned as being discriminatory on the ground that the legislation could have created a wider class.”
Salve, a noted lawyer and a constitutional expert, stressed that the principle of equality does not mean that every law must have universal application. This is the reason why, the advocate argues, even the Supreme Court has repeatedly refused to interfere and left it for the government to decide which policy is best for India.
Salve also questioned, “Do we really need proof that minorities are persecuted in these Islamic republics? How can Parliament be faulted for coming to a conclusion that such minorities in the three named neighbours need to be protected?”
He further clarified that the Indian Constitution confers special rights on religious minorities and the ambit of the law was broadened to include Muslims.
When he was asked that the act is an attempt of the government to get rid of Muslims in India, Salve clarified, “The Prime Minister has denied it.” However, he also said if any procedure is put in place for Muslims to prove their citizenship then that procedure would be unconstitutional.
An Appeal...
Dear Reader,
As you are no doubt aware, Swarajya is a media product that is directly dependent on support from its readers in the form of subscriptions. We do not have the muscle and backing of a large media conglomerate nor are we playing for the large advertisement sweep-stake.
Our business model is you and your subscription. And in challenging times like these, we need your support now more than ever.
We deliver over 10 - 15 high quality articles with expert insights and views. From 7AM in the morning to 10PM late night we operate to ensure you, the reader, get to see what is just right.
Becoming a Patron or a subscriber for as little as Rs 1200/year is the best way you can support our efforts.