NEW DELHI : BJP president 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.
Addressing a meeting of Delhi BJP workers, Shah, also the Union home minister, 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.
Opposition leaders were spreading a pack of lies over the CAA, he said, asking BJP workers to carry out an intensive campaign to inform the masses about its features.
Its beneficiaries are largely Dalits and poor and those opposing the law are against these people, Shah said, calling Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Gandhis “anti-Dalits” for questioning it.
“(Arvind) Kejriwal has misled people. The Congress, especially Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, has instigated riots by misleading people. Do you want a government in Delhi which incites riots for politics,” he asked.
The opposition was inciting minorities against the CAA by alleging that they will lose their citizenship, he said.
“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.
The BJP leader also claimed that Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had extended her support to rioters by saying that she will visit houses of those who carried out riots.
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.
Opposition parties have called the law against India’s Constitution for making religion a ground for citizenship.
The country has been witnessing protests against the amended citizenship law, with protesters arguing that the CAA in combination with other citizenship measures like NPR and NRC can be used to discriminate against people.
The Modi government has asserted that it has so far not discussed the proposal for National Register of Citizens.
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, he said, noting that a recent Supreme Court order had paved the way for building the temple.
He asked people to give missed calls to a toll free number put out by the BJP to show their support to the CAA and slammed rumours that the number belonged to Netflix, a streaming service. This number belongs to the BJP, he said. (agencies)
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