Punjab Congress on Sunday took a dig at Punjab’s former Chief Minister and Akali Dal patron Parkash Singh Badal over his “belated awakening” about the ill-effects of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
“It is strange that while the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) voted in favour of the CAA and supported its passage in both the Houses of Parliament, the senior Badal has now started crying hoarse over it
saying that the citizenship should be open to people of all religions,” said senior Congress leader and Punjab Jails and Cooperation Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
However, there is no “awakened conscience” in Badal as it had died in him long before, Randhawa said, adding, “It is actually a statement of convenience as he and his party has been ignored and sidelined by the BJP and now they are trying to use the CAA to seek attention from their masters (BJP leaders)”.
The Minister challenged Badal that if he was really serious and concerned about the divisive nature of the CAA, he can ask his daughter-in-law to resign from the Cabinet.
“Or at least write a letter of protest to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi questioning the unconstitutional nature of the CAA,” he asked Badal, while adding, “otherwise, it will be reaffirmed that you are making random statements to derive some political bargain from the BJP”.
Randhawa said the Badals have changed their stand on CAA so frequently depending on the situation at the particular moment. “First when it suited them, they supported the CAA in the Parliament, and now they think opposing it will suit them more,” said Randhawa.
At the same time, Randhawa advised the SAD leader to retain consistency in his stand and statements about such a crucial matter that concerns the secular ideal of the Indian democracy.