Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said yesterday that his government did not discriminate along religious lines, in the wake of deadly protests over a recently passed citizenship Act that critics call divisive and anti-Muslim.

The Citizenship Amendment Act will naturalise non-Muslim illegals from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Many protesters want the government to roll back the Act, which Home Minister Amit Shah has said is not possible.

Mr Modi, facing the biggest test of his second-term government, tried to reassure the nation during a Bharatiya Janata Party rally in New Delhi. The party is rolling out a communications campaign, and plans to contact millions of people across the country over 10 days to highlight different aspects of the Act through 1,000 rallies and 250 media conferences.

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