The MHA also defended the exclusion of certain areas of Assam and other Northeastern states from the application of the CAA, saying it has been done to "protect the ethnic/linguistic rights".
The Indian government has urged the Supreme Court to dismiss pleas challenging the validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), saying it is a “focused law” which grants citizenship only to members of six specified communities who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.