BENGALURU: In its maiden public discourse debate under the aegis ‘Suvada’, a platform initiated by the Centre for Public Policy (CPP), the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), an informed debated around the CAA-NRC was held.
The hall was packed to capacity and security measures were in place as two Parliamentarians MV Rajeev Gowda and Swapan Dasgupta exchanged views on CAA, NRC.
Both speakers brought new insights to the table, with Rajeev’s emotive response on NRC being greeted with thunderous applaud when he said, “Even if one citizen of India is deprived citizenship as a result of NRC, it is a shame to this country.”
Swapan defended the BJP’s stand by saying the NRC was not on the anvil till rigorous discussions are held. “It has not even gone to cabinet. It’s just to determine who is a citizen and who is not a citizen,” he said.
However, Gowda reminded that “the BJP manifesto said they will implement NRC fairly soon. President Ramnath Kovind in his address to the parliament said that his government will implement the NRC, hence it’s fairly imminent and does not seem so far away.”
He further said, “Assam has taught us that we will be at the mercy of some bureaucrat who might demand a bribe and accept papers that are perfectly valid. We are going to end up in a situation where bureaucracy is communalised. You are creating chaos in the country and depriving those who are Indians of their
birthright — citizenship.”
Gowda accused the BJP of misleading the nation with “divisive diabolical works”, which only create division, dissent and confusion instead of setting its priority on fixing the economy towards the 5 trillion dollar goal. Swapan was quick to interject and say that he did not see a single intervention (from the Opposition) to suggest that the CAA is a distraction when the bill was passed in parliament.
In an interaction with the media, Swapan denied being in the know of the JNU tapes and the terrorising of journalists associated with it, dismissing it as a media-versus-media fight.