CAA, NRC ploys to divert attention from serious issues, says Sharad Pawar

NCP chief Sharad Pawar questioned why only migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be given citizenship under the amended law and not the Sri Lankan Tamils.

Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar. File

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar slammed the NDA government on December 21, saying the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) were “ploys to divert” attention from serious issues plaguing the country.

“CAA and NRC are ploys to divert people’s attention from serious issues that the country is facing,” he told reporters in Pune.

“Not just minorities, but those who care for the country’s unity and progress are opposing CAA and NRC. The new citizenship law will disturb and hurt religious and social unity and harmony of the country,” he said.

He questioned why only migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be given citizenship under the amended law and not the Sri Lankan Tamils.

Eight States, including Bihar, ruled by an NDA ally, have refused to implement the law and Maharashtra should also take a similar stand, Mr. Pawar said in response to a query.

“The CAA may be a central act, but the implementation will be done by the state agencies. But do the states have resources and machinery to do so,” he asked.

The former Union Minister also sought an SIT probe, headed by a retired judge, into Pune police’s action against activists in the Elgar Parishad case.