Ensuring safety and rightful place to Muslims born in India, Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Manoj Tiwari on Friday said the Citizenship Act - 1955 has been amended to give citizenship to the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhism, Jain, Christian, Parsi refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who came to India before or on 31st December 2014.
“I am here to clear all doubts pertaining to Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), this Act will never harm any Indian,” Tiwari said while reading from the recently Amendment Act on Citizenship.
Tiwari, Member of Parliament from Northeast Delhi Lok Sabha seat invited Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for an open discussion on CAA.
“Rumors should not be spread as this act will help people to attain citizenship status,” the BJP leader said in Connaught Place while interacting with locals and informing them about the CAA intricacies.
Hitting out at AAP and Congress, Tiwari said that AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal and Congress president Subhash Chopra did not turn up for the debate. “Both parties in Delhi have proved that they are spreading rumors about CAA,” Tiwari said.
Pertinently, Delhi BJP wrote a letter to AAP and invited Congress leader to participate in open debate on CAA.
“The people who have the responsibility of preventing violence have actually encouraged violence. Even celebrities are not clear in their minds about CAA,” said Tiwari.
Citing CAA gazette, Tiwari read, “The Citizenship Amendment Act is only of three pages and needs to be studied. Any Act is amended when it is passed both by Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha but BJP lacks majority in Rajya Sabha, other parties voted in favor of this Bill, only after that the Bill was passed. This has now become law after being notified by the Honourable President on 13th December,”
“CAA — 1955 has been amended to give citizenship to the the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhism, Jainism, Christian, Parsi refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who came to India before 31st December 2014,” he read.
“Had our country not been divided on religious ground, there was no need for this law,” Tiwari said.
He further said that this Act will not apply to Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura’s ST areas and the areas under internal boundary notified under Bengal Eastern Territory Regulation 1873.
“ Confusion was created in the North-East on this issue and various parties played politics on it. Enmity is been created between the people of the country. BJP rebukes all the rumors being created on Citizenship Amendment Act,” he added further.