BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Mahesh Poddar on Wednesday said that there is nothing new or objectionable in the citizenship amendment act, but the defeated and dejected Opposition is trying to destabilise Modi Government and the country. Poddar was speaking at a function organised at FJCCI attended by intellectuals, entrepreneurs, businessmen. Ranchi MP Sanjay Seth also spoke on the occasion.
Seth claimed that Opposition is protesting Modi Government schemes and policies as the PM has successfully solved several problems pending for decades one after the other. As the Opposition does not have any issue against Modi Government, there is an attempt to disturb social fabric of country by spreading confusion over the citizenship law. He clarified that CAA is a law related to granting citizenship of India to minorities from three neighbouring countries and there is no question of snatching anyone citizenship.
Poddar said that through the CAA, the Modi Government is correcting the mistakes of Congress Governments. He said that if the Congress had not divided the country on the basis of religion at the time of Independence, there would have been no need to bring this bill.
“During the partition, there was an agreement between Jawaharlal Nehru and Mohammad Liaquat Ali of Pakistan, which said that in both the Countries, minorities will be given protection, India seriously followed on this front giving protection to minorities while Pakistan never followed it,” added Poddar.
“The purpose of this bill is to give citizenship to such minorities who have been harassed from other countries. We are not taking away any of their rights from any Muslim. But if any Muslim of these three countries (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh) applies for citizenship on the basis of our law, then we will consider it,” added Poddar.
Poddar said that according to the 2016 report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are more than two lakh refugees in India. In 1947, the number of minorities in Pakistan was 23per cent and in 2011 it was reduced to 3.7per cent.
In 1947, the number of minorities in Bangladesh was 22per cent and in 2011 it came down to 7.8per cent. On the other hand, India had 84per cent Hindus in 1951 and in 2011 they came down to 79per cent whereas the number of majority there has increased in the rest of the countries. In 1951, the number of Muslims in India was 9.8 per cent and today the number of Muslims is 14.23 per cent.
The strange situation is that the Congress which always advocated giving citizenship in India to non-Muslim minorities tortured in neighboring countries, is today opposing CAA for vote bank politics.
In 2003, the Home Ministry committee of the Parliament recommended that religious minorities from neighboring countries be given asylum in India, and specifically excluded the Muslim community as majority in these countries.
The chairman of this committee was former President Dr. Pranab Mukherjee and members were - Kapil Sibal, Hansraj Bhardwaj, Motilal Vora, Ambika Soni, Lalu Prasad etc.