The political upheaval in India continues to find its way in 2020, as protesters march along the streets to condemn the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act). Students, civil rights activists and the general public have been protesting against the prejudiced law for weeks now and it seems there is no end to it.
While the media had a close eye on the reactions from various political leaders and Bollywood stars, the latter seemed to be divided into three fractions – pro, against and silent.
Prominent actors such as Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar, Sonakshi Sinha, Alia Bhatt etc voiced their opinions on the anti CAA protests and came out to support the public view. However, Bollywood’s big names such as SRK, Salman Khan, Amir Khan, the Bachchan family etc chose to remain silent which garnered a lot of criticism. On the other hand, celebrities like Paresh Rawal were in favor of the law and defended the government.
Actress Celina Jaitley also shared her stance on the legislation and says she has a ‘pragmatic understanding of the whole situation.
Celina Jaitley on CAA
According to her, the protests are a result of political manipulation. She claims that she has studied the CAA law and consulted the lawyers and feels that the situation was misunderstood by the people.
“I know what it is all about. In our country, most protesters have jumped to conclusions due to political manipulations and causing unnecessary unrest within our country. My understanding of the whole situation is pretty pragmatic having consulted with various legal personalities. I do not want to hurt anyone’s sentiments, for me humanity is above any religion, but I guess some clarity on the current situation is needed,” Celina said in an interview.
When asked whether the CAA affects existing Indian citizens, both Hindus and Muslims, Celina explained that it has nothing to do with the existing citizens, and only applies to refugees who came to India due to religious persecution. She also explained how the CAA will help these refugees acquire the Indian citizenship.
“Their residency requirement for permanent citizenship in India has now been reduced from 11 to 5 years. Thus they can claim citizenship as a right under this law. Unfortunately, their major problem was that once these refugees reached India, they would continue to be looked at by the entire system including common citizens as ‘Pakistanis’ or ‘Bangladeshis’ etc! They had to endure many challenges and officially no government support could be given to them.”
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She Clarified the Confusion
Celina also clarified the point that Muslims from the three neighboring countries (Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh) will be able to acquire their citizenship, however, they will have to go through the existing naturalization rules, i.e. 11 years of residence etc.
When asked whether the current Indian Muslims lose their citizenship or become second class citizens, the actress replied, “No. Not at all.”
“They continue to be valued citizens of India! In India, we do not have a concept of different classes of citizens.”
Celina Jaitley concluded her interview by pointing out the flaws of the Indian government which is making the people and the country suffer tremendously.
“Any nation pays the price for having foolish and opportunistic leaders who only seek to divide own citizens for narrow political brownie points! We’re suffering from the same.”
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