Jammu extends unprecedented support to rally for CAA
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 12: The mega rally in support of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), here today, invited unprecedented response of Jammuites as thousands of people from different sections of society assembled near Parade Ground for their participation in the mega event, organized by Jammu and Kashmir People’s Forum.
Speakers on the occasion, strongly defended CAA for according citizenship to persecuted minorities in neighbouring Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and alleged that those opposing the Central Government move were playing in the hands of `Tukde Tukde Gang’.
“Those protesting against CAA don’t know about the plights of persecuted minorities in these three countries while the political parties, which are instigating these people for protests, don’t want to tell them the truth,” said Monika Arora, a Supreme Court lawyer and social activist, who has been vociferously defending Government of India on its CAA move.
Maintaining that CAA is for giving the citizenship to those who were persecuted on the name of religion in the neighboring countries and had came to India before 31st Dec. 2014, She gave the example of Jogender Nath Mandal, who was the first Hindu minister in Pakistan and within three years had come to India as he too was persecuted there. “If a minister can be persecuted, what about the normal people who are in minorities there,” she said.
Pointing out India has given citizenship to more than 560 Muslims too in the past some time, Monika Arora sought to know what was the problem in giving citizenship to the persecuted minorities of the neighboring countries.
Describing settling of Rohingyas in Jammu as a big conspiracy, she said: “How did they (Rohingyas) come here thousands of kilometers away. India has given the citizenship rights to the people who came here from Uganda in the year 1972. However, we will never give citizenship to the Rohingyas and the infiltrators”.
Reminding that Nehru-Liaqat Pact in 1950 also talked of saving the minorities, Monika Arora lashed out at Congress, Communists and other opposition parties, which are instigating Muslims. “Those who stand for these hooligans, never stood for Kashmiri Pandits who are thrown out of their homes in their own country,” she added.
In his speech, senior political analyst, Pardeep Bhandari also lashed out on opposition and JNU group of students who are more busy in sloganarising than education. “Leftist and Congress are supporting these Tukde Tukde Gang but not taking the words of Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, Ambedkar and Dr Rajender Parsad, who had publically conveyed their desire to bring those Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Parsies to India, who had felt persecuted in the neighboring Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan,” he said.
“In fact, these people are not protesting against the CAA but against the Modi Government. These are professional protesters who are giving bad name to India. Congress wants to re-launch Rahul Gandhi and thus exploiting people on the issue whereas CAA is not for taking citizenship of the Indian citizens,” he explained.
Prant Sanghchalak, Brig Suchet Singh sought to justify the necessity of CAA in the light of persecution of minorities in Pakistan, whose number has reduced to just one percent from 23 percent in the last 70 years.
President of Bar Association Jammu, Advocate Abhinav Sharma reminded that the Citizenship Act had been earlier amended six times and hence all hue and cry on CAA, this time was politically motivated.
Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir People’s Forum, Ramesh Sabharwal threw light on objective of organizing the rally and the reasons, which led to introduction of CAA.
State BJP general secretary Yudhvir Sethi and former Minister Priya Sethi stressed the need to affectively counter the opposition sponsored misinformation campaign against CAA.
Lt Gen (Retd) Rakesh Sharma, S Hardev Singh, Sohail Kazmi, Gujjar leader Lal Hussain Lodha and others also addressed the mega rally.
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