A report issued by an independent research wing of the US Congress has claimed that key provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which came into law this year may violate certain provisions of India’s Constitution.

“The CAA’s key provisions — allowing immigrants of six religions from three countries a path to citizenship while excluding Muslims — may violate certain Articles of the Indian Constitution,” said a brief ‘In Focus’ report of Congressional Research Service (CRS).

CRS is an independent research wing of the US Congress that prepares reports on issues of interest to the members of Congress. However, its reports are not considered to be an official report of views of the Congress.

“In tandem with a National Register of Citizens (NRC) planned by the federal government, the CAA may threaten the rights of India’s large Muslim minority of roughly 200 million,” the report further claimed.

CRS report tells the members of the Congress that the lead US diplomat for the region in 2019 expressed “genuine concern” about “India’s trajectory” and that issues such as the CAA “not detract from India’s ability… to stand with us in trying to promote, again, this free and open Indo-Pacific.”

“Some Members of Congress have expressed related concerns, including in the 118th Congress, where House Resolution 542 would condemn human rights violations and violations of international religious freedom in India, and Senate Resolution 424, which seeks “a swift end to the persecution of, and violence against, religious minorities and human rights defenders in India,” and which urges New Delhi to amend “discriminatory” laws such as the CAA,” said the report.