NEW DELHI: BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday accused Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal 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 neighboring country.
“For 70 years, it was the promise of Mahatma Gandhi which you did not fulfill, now Narendra Modi did it and you are instigating minorities by saying they will lose their citizenship. I want to tell the minorities of the country that CAA cannot lead to losing of citizenship of any citizen because it has no such provision... I want Kejriwal, Rahul ji and Sonia Gandhi to open their eyes and see pious Nankana Sahab was attacked and Pakistan terrorised Sikh brothers. This is an answer to all those people who are protesting against CAA,” Shah said.
“Tell me if these Sikhs will not come to India, where will they go? 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.”
Taking a jibe at the Aam Aadmi Party-led government, Shah said that the people of Delhi must hold the Kejriwal government accountable.
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.
“Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra instigated riots by misleading people over CAA... Kejriwal also misled the people,” Shah said while addressing a Booth Karyakarta Sammelan at the Indira Gandhi Indoor stadium here. Hundreds of BJP workers attended the event.
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.
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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.
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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.
Toll-free number: Opposition creating confusion
The BJP claimed opposition parties are spreading confusion over a toll free number it has issued to seek people’s support on the amended Citizenship Act, and asserted that it has undertaken a positive exercise to spread awareness about the law. The BJP hit out at the opposition after several memes and misleading posts emerged on social media about the number (8866288662). Hours after Shah said rumours were being spread about the number and noted that it belonged to his party and not to Netflix, as claimed in posts.
(With inputs from ANI)