Urging opposition to know ground reality of minorities, JP Nadda highlights the real essence of CAB

New Delhi, December 11: With the ongoing discussion on Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in Rajya Sabha, the opposition party is leaving no stones unturned to prove their difference in opinion over the bill. Giving a befitting reply in the Parliament, J P Nadda clarified saying that CAB is for those minorities who have been persecuted in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan should get citizenship in India. This is the essence of the bill. Amit Shah while tabling the bill in the Upper House had rejected charge of vote bank politics and that the BJP has declared its intention to bring such legislation in manifesto.

 

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, JP Nadda said, the minorities were protected after the partition but that was not the condition in Pakistan. The atrocities on minorities have been scaling up with sexual violence, harassment, forced conversion, abduction coming into picture. Supporting this, BJP MP JP Nadda read the Jansangh resolution of 1970 to highlight depleting population of minorities in Pakistan. He even referred to media reports to highlight atrocities against minorities in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Hitting out at opposition for their claim on how the bill points out at Right to Equality, JP Nadda stated that the opposition quoted ‘Right to equality - Article 14, but the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill has got nothing to do with equality. He urged the opposition members to visit Kutch, Indore or Bangladesh border, where they would see the plight of Hindu refugees prosecuted in Pakistan. He then mentioned that watching their plight you will immediately give your consent to the bill. The government has also documented evidence of how minorities have grown in India but the population of Pakistan's minorities have gone down significantly.

He also pointed out as he said, “On November 18, 2003, Manmohan Singh spoke about persecution of minorities in neighbouring countries in Rajya Sabha, and advocated granting citizenship to such people. Manmohan Singh said we should have more liberal approach in granting citizenship to them. So, we are following what he said.”

Lashing out at Congress, JP Nadda further added saying, “Leave your political interest behind, keep your national interest forward. There has been a concerted effort to spread lies in North East about Citizenship (Amendment) Bill...but the Home Minister has made it very clear that people of NE will be adequately protected.” Ministry of Home Affairs has extended Inner Line Permit (ILP) to Manipur and other parts of the North East.

Slamming Congress leader Anand Sharma, Nadda added, “The nation builders wanted the minorities in both the countries to get protection. But the reality was very different. In Jawahar-Liyaqat Ali Pact it was decided that the minorities would be divided. We know that in 1950 when we framed the constitution we made it secular, but Pakistan made it a theocratic nation.”