Accusing the Congress and its allies of fuelling violence over the amended Citizenship Act, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 15 said the Opposition’s actions prove that the decision to pass the bill was “1,000 per cent correct”, and those indulging in arson “can be identified by their clothes“.
“The Congress and its allies are stoking fire over the Citizenship Act, but people of northeast have rejected violence,” he said during an election rally here.
“The country is watching; people’s faith has been cemented in Modi after the Bill was cleared by Parliament. Their (Opposition) actions reflect that the decision to pass Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Parliament is 1,000 per cent correct,” the Prime Minister said.
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Protests have been raging against the law in northeast and West Bengal, where several railway stations, trains and buses were set afire by mobs over the last two days.
“People who are setting fire (to property) can be seen on TV... They can be identified by the clothes they are wearing,” he said without elaborating.
Condemning the overseas protests by the Congress, he said, “For the first time, the Congress did what Pakistanis has been doing for long.” A large number of people gathered outside the Indian High Commission in London on December 14 to protest against the Act and what they branded as the Modi government’s “failures”.
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“You will be surprised at the events that had unfolded near the Indian Embassy in London after the verdict was announced on Ram Janmabhoomi and the abrogation of Article 370. People from Pakistan, those settled in London, had staged demonstrations outside our embassy,” he said. “Did any Indian stage demonstration near the Embassy? If there is any issue, a person goes to the Embassy, meets the officials, who then send the documents to the central government.”
Efforts were being made to tarnish the country’s image, the Prime Minister said. “The country is watching; people’s faith has been cemented in Modi after the Bill was cleared by Parliament. Their (the Opposition’s ) actions reflect that the decision to pass Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Parliament is 1000% correct,” he said.
Listing the achievements of the BJP governments at the Centre and the State, the PM said, “I am your sevak (servant). I have come here to give an account of the development work done by our party in the State.”
He claimed that leaders of the Opposition parties have only built palaces for themselves without paying any attention to the problems faced by common people. The Congress and the JMM have no roadmap or agenda for developing Jharkhand, Mr. Modi said.
Referring to the sacrifice made by tribal freedom fighters for the country, he sought to know if the Britishers would have left India, had Birsa Munda, Sido-Kano, Chand- Bhairav and Phulo-Jano cared about personal gains. “These great tribal martyrs rose above their personal interest to serve the society and the country,” Mr. Modi said, adding that the BJP has derived its culture from them.
He thanked Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu for encouraging MPs to use local languages, including Santhali, in Parliament, while also ensuring their English and Hindi translations were available on headphones.
“Santhal Pargana has a rich language and culture. The government will promote spiritual tourism in the Santhal Pargana, where many temples of Lord Shiva and other temples are situated. I thank Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu ji for arranging translation of Santhali language in Rajya Sabha,” Mr. Modi added.