The government today reiterated that the newly-implemented Citizenship Amendment Act or CAA doesn't curtail the freedom and opportunity of Indian Muslims amid sharp criticism from the opposition, which terms the move as discriminatory and motivated by the approaching Lok Sabha elections. It also asserted that there is no bar on Muslims from anywhere in the world to seek Indian citizenship. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, at least 30,000 "persecuted" minorities such as Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, Sikhs and Christians from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh could benefit from the CAA.