Reiterating that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will not affect Muslims, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday asked Muslims not to fall for the ‘smear campaign’ by Opposition parties, more so by the Congress, on the Act.
Launching a signature campaign in support of the CAA at Surathkal here, Mr. Bommai said there will be no trouble for any Muslim from the CAA.
“Your ration card will be more strengthened. Nothing will happen to your Aadhaar card. Nobody will drive you out from the place you are staying. Opposition parties, more so the Congress, were trying to create fear and building a sense of insecurity among Muslims,” he said.
In plain terms, Mr. Bommai said, the CAA was nothing but a process of legitimising the stay of persons who have fled from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh following religious persecution. “You see good number of people from different parts of the country, who have problems at their place, come to earn their living in Mangaluru. The government gives such residents electricity, water and title deed for place they are staying. Does this in any way affect you at all?. No. With CAA, a similar exercise will be carried out and it will not affect Muslims or any other residents here. Those spreading lies and creating fear among Muslims are acting against the State,” he said.
BJP State president Nalin Kumar Kateel said the BJP will hold massive CAA awareness programmes at three places including Mangaluru and Sindhanur in Raichur district, which has large number of Bangladeshi refugees. There will be awareness campaigns in all district centres.
Mr. Bommai and Mr. Kateel earlier signed on the big poster to begin the campaign to send letters addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in support of CAA. Mangaluru North MLA Y. Bharath Shetty and BJP activists participated in the exercise.
