The National General Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Ram Madhav, said that the opposition parties in the country are indulging in fear-mongering for their own political gains.
Delivering a lecture on CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act), which was organised by Citizens’ Council of Mangaluru on Sunday, he said the Act does not talk about religion nor does it ask anyone this information. It is a one-time offer for all those persecuted religious minorities who have taken refuge in India on or before December 31, 2014 to opt for Indian citizenship.
He said the then Prime Ministers like Jawaharlal Nehru through the Liaquat Ali Khan-Nehru pact, or Indira Gandhi in 1972 through the Indira-Mujibur Rahman Pact, had allowed for such persecuted minorities to take refuge in India with an undertaking that they will be taken care off here. He said it is unfortunate the opposition parties have forgotten this facet of history, and indulging in fear-mongering for their own narrow political gains.
On the opposition’s portrayal of bleak future for Muslims in the country post-CAA, he said India is the only country in the world where all 72 sects of Muslims enjoy absolute freedom and security compared to any other Islamic country.
The whole edifice of opposition on CAA is based on lies and utter-lies, he said, adding that now they want to link that it with NRC (national register of citizens). He clarified that the government has not taken any decision on NRC.
On NPR (national population register), he said it identifies the domicile of every resident and not citizen. He said NPR was initiated by the then UPA government with then Home Minister P Chidambaram, handing over the first Resident Card to then President Prathiba Patil.
For obvious reasons the opposition is indulging in bogus propaganda on CAA and NPR, he said.
Ram Madhav said the government is engaging critics of CAA, including the Muslim community members, to allay their concerns on CAA, NRC and NPR.