JAIPUR: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will lead a peace march in Jaipur on Sunday to oppose the ‘divisive’ Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and give a strong message that people of all communities want to live in peace and harmony.
Arguing that the CAA and NRC "do not deserve" to be implemented in the country as they will harm people of all communities, Gehlot alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP are "trying to polarise" the country. "It is the trick of the BJP, Modi and Shah for polarisation. They want to keep polarising the country so that they can get its advantage in elections. They want to create an atmosphere of hatred in the country but we will not let this happen," Gehlot asserted at a press conference in Jaipur.
Taking a dig at Amit Shah, Gehlot also said. "In Assam, people are saying that NRC is not acceptable to us. So Shah says we will not implement NRC there. At the same time, throughout the country, Home Minister Amit Shah is repeatedly provoking people. He keeps saying that I will apply NRC in the whole country, which is a language that reflects a dictatorial tendency.’’ The chief minister also questioned that when the government "could not implement" NRC in Assam, how will it be successful in implementing it in the entire country.
However, though he lauded the students protesting all over the country, Gehlot said the violence in some parts of the country is unfortunate and demanded that the Centre repeal the CAA. "Eleven people have died in the violence. The situation is alarming. Demonstrations are a democratic right but violence cannot be tolerated," Gehlot said.
The Rajasthan chief minister said the country should be run on the principles of the Constitution and asserted that the aim of the peace march on Sunday is to rekindle ‘the basic spirit of the constitution’.
Gehlot said he will himself march on foot at this rally to give the message that people of all communities in the state want to live in harmony. The peace march will start from Albert Hall and culminate at Jaipur’s famous Gandhi circle. "We call on everyone to participate in this peace demonstration. We will carry out the peace march till the Gandhi Statue. People will express their feelings by going to Gandhiji," concluded Gehlot.