NEW DELHI: The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has “successfully” held six seminars to dispel fears and misunderstandings among Muslims about the CAA, and is planning more such events across the country, officials said on Wednesday. The first six seminars were held in Uttar Pradesh, where 21 persons had died during protests against the Act.
NCM chairperson Syed Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi said the panel would soon hold seminars in Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Assam to clear all “confusion” regarding the new law.
While the ruling BJP has been running a door-to-door campaign in support of the CAA, explaining the rationale behind it, the NCM is the first government-linked body to endorse the CAA.
The NCM is a statutory body for the protection of minority rights.
“It is NCM’s job to dispel fears and doubts of minorities and many people have been misled on CAA. Through these seminars, we are telling Muslims that the CAA does not take away anyone’s citizenship and that Indians, whatever be their religion, will not be affected. We did face a lot of questions but at the end, people were convinced that the CAA does not threaten their citizenship,” Rizvi said.
Around 200-300 Muslims, including intellectuals, imams, and prominent people from the community participated in the seminars, he said.
The next round of seminars would be held in Karnataka at the end of this month.