The Congress on Sunday rejected Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charge that the party was ‘misleading’ citizens over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) and asserted that it was the government that created “an atmosphere of insecurity and uncertainty”.
“The Opposition has not brought up this issue out of a vacuum. There is a context to that; [it] is the Home Minister’s statement in both the Houses in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, it is in the public domain...That has created an environment of fear, insecurity and uncertainty in the country and it is primarily government, which is responsible for that,” said Deputy Leader of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma.
“In a democracy, the government takes decisions, and if those decisions raise bona fide concerns and issues, the Opposition has a right to protest or raise the people’s concerns. It is the duty of the Opposition. Those who questioned the government, or criticise them have been labelled as if we are not Indians and national interest is not close to our hearts,” Mr. Sharma added.
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The Congress leader said Prime Minister Modi should now offer a “healing touch” to the people who are concerned about the developments.
Senior Congress leader A.K. Antony accused the government of coming up with the CAA and the NRC to divert attention from his government's abject failure, unprecedented unemployment and collapse of economy.
“It’s Modi who is telling lies. From his speech, one can sense that he has mellowed down slightly seeing the protest. This protest, especially with the huge participation of youth, is unparalleled. With every passing day, the protest is gathering support,” Mr Antony said after the Mr Modi’s Ramlila Maidan speech.
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“We will take along all like-minded parties, willing to come on a common platform with us to take forward the protest,” Mr. Antony added.
Former Union minister Jairam Ramesh said the Prime Minister's speech on NRC was deliberate attempt to “fool” people .
“Prime Minister says one thing. Home Minister says something else. But this is all part of the good cop-bad cop routine. Nobody should get fooled!” Mr. Ramesh tweeted.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala too targeted the government on Twitter by asking: “Two things need to be answered: Is the Prime Minister and Home not on same page? Is there a rift between the party and the government? Or is that both together are making a fool of people?”