Assures minority that they will not lose citizenship as CAA has no such provision
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday accused Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of instigating “riots” by “misleading” people on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and sought to reassure Muslims, saying the law has no provision about taking away citizenship of minorities.
BJP launched a ‘Jan Jagran’ (public awareness) campaign to contact three crore families to counter the Opposition’s campaign against the CAA and inform the masses about its features. While Shah led the drive in the national Capital, other top party leaders like Rajnath Singh, JP Nadda and Nitin Gadkari were in different parts of the country as part of the campaign, which will end on January 15. As part of door to door campaign, Shah visited homes in Lajpat Nagar here and talked to people about the benefits of the amended citizenship law. He also distributed literature on the subject and urged them to go through it.
The ruling party also launched a toll free number to seek people’s support on the amended Citizenship Act, and asserted that it has undertaken a positive exercise to spread awareness about the law. The number, however, led to some controversy. Shah clarified that rumours were being spread about the number and noted that it belonged to his party and not to Netflix. The party later held a press conference to slam those spreading confusion over it. The CAA seeks to grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, Jains and Parsis who had arrived in India by December 31, 2014 from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh due to religious persecution.
While the Modi Government has asserted that it has so far not discussed the proposal for National Register of Citizens, NDA ally JD (U) general secretary Pavan Varma has asked party president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to categorically reject the “divisive CAA-NPR-NRC scheme”, saying this has “nefarious agenda to divide India and create a great deal of unnecessary social turbulence”.
Addressing a meeting of BJP workers in Delhi, Shah attacked Pakistan for “terrorising” Sikhs as he referred to a recent attack on Gurdwara Nankana Sahib by a violent mob in Pakistan and asked Opposition leaders to open their eyes to atrocities against minorities in the neighbouring country.
“This is an answer to all those opposing the CAA. Tell me if these Sikhs who were attacked the other day in Gurdwara Nankana Sahib will not come to India, then where they will go?” he asked.
“I want to tell brothers and sisters from the minority that none of them can lose their citizenship because the CAA has no provision about taking it away,” Shah said.
Shah also claimed that Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra extended her support to rioters by saying that she will visit houses of those who carried out riots. Shah said Opposition parties have become habituated to the “politics of opposition and vote bank” and referred to their stand against measures like the law against triple talaq among Muslim men and nullification of Article 370. They also opposed construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, Shah said.
Congress leader Rajeev Satav hit back at Shah over his allegation that Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra instigated riots by misleading people over the amended Citizenship Act, as he raked up the BJP leader’s internment due to his alleged involvement in a criminal case. Shah was later discharged from the case. The entire country knows which party runs the “vote for riots factory”, Satav said.
Noting that vulgar claims are also being made, such as people can speak to lonely girls by dialing this number, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said the exercise should not be reduced to ridicule.
Meanwhile, in an open letter to the Bihar Chief Minister, Varma expressed his surprise at the “unilateral” announcement of Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, who is from the BJP, that the National Population Register (NPR) exercise will be carried out in the State between May 15 and 28 despite Kumar’s stand against the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The JD (U) leader has been critical of his party’s decision to support the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Parliament, and it has now become a law following its passage in both Houses.
JD (U) vice president Prashant Kishor has also spoken strongly against the CAA and said this, in combination with the NRC, can turn into a “lethal combo in the hands of the Government to systematically discriminate and even prosecute people based on religion.”
In his letter, Varma said the CAA-NRC combine is a direct attempt to divide Hindus and Muslims, and to create social instability.