Union Home Minister and 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.
Mr. Shah said minorities in the country had nothing to fear as the Act did not have any provision to take away anyone’s citizenship. “I want to tell brothers and sisters from the minority communities that none of them can lose their citizenship because the CAA has no provision about taking it away,” Mr. Shah said.
At a meeting of party workers in Delhi, Mr. Shah attacked Pakistan for “terrorising” Sikhs as he referred to the 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 neighbouring country.
“This is an answer to all those opposing the CAA. Tell me if these Sikhs who were attacked the other day in Gurdwara Nankana Sahib will not come to India, then where they will go” he asked.
The BJP president directed party workers to reach out to every household in Delhi about the features of the Act, which, he said, was an attempt to give citizenship to Dalit and Sikh refugees who had come from Pakistan and Afghanistan. Opposition leaders were spreading a pack of lies over the CAA, he said.
Mr. Shah attacked Mr. Kejriwal and the Congress leaders, terming them “anti-Dalits” for opposing the Act.
“Prime minister came out with CAA. It was approved by the Cabinet and Parliament passed it. (Arvind) Kejriwal misled people; the Congress, especially Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, instigated riots by misleading people. Do you want a government in Delhi which incites riots for politics,” he asked.
The BJP leader claimed that Ms. Vadra had extended her support to rioters by saying that she would visit the houses of those who carried out riots.
‘Not a Netflix number’
Mr. Shah asked people to give missed calls to a toll free number put out by the BJP to show their support for the CAA. He slammed rumours that the number belonged to Netflix, a streaming service.
The number has run into controversy after it was found that several Twitter accounts were advertising it as a means to get free subscriptions on Netflix and to chat with “lonely women”, among other scams.
(With PTI inputs)
