CAA, NRC ‘Internal Matters’ of India: Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina termed CAA and the NRC, as ‘internal matters’ of India.

Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh Prime Minister

(Photo: AP)

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina termed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) as ‘internal matters’ of India, but at the same time, said the act was "not necessary".

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, fast-tracks citizenship for non-Muslim refugees who have come from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan before 31 December, 2014.

India is witnessing widespread protests against the amended citizenship law.

“We don’t understand why (the Indian government) did it. It was not necessary,” Hasina told the Gulf News in an interview, referring to India’s new citizenship law.

Her comments came weeks after Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said that the CAA and the NRC are India's "internal issues", but voiced concerns that any "uncertainty" in the country is likely to affect its neighbours.

Bangladesh, where 10.7 per cent of the 161 million population is Hindu and 0.6 per cent Buddhist, has denied any migration to India because of religious persecution. 

‘No Reverse Migration from India’: Sheikh Hasina

Hasina, who is in UAE capital’s Abu Dhabi, also said that there has been no recorded reverse migration from India. "No, there is no reverse migration from India. But within India, people are facing many problems," she said.

"(Still), it is an internal affair," Hasina said.