BJP working president J.P. Nadda said here on Sunday that those opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act were “anti-Dalit” as “70-80%” of the beneficiaries of the Act were from the community.
Mr. Nadda said the CAA, passed by Parliament earlier this month, would give citizenship to Sikhs, Hindus, Christians, Jains, Buddhists and Parsis who had fled religious persecution in Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan till December 31, 2014.
Speaking at an event organised by a Dalit group here, he said opponents of the Act, led by the Congress, were misleading people by saying it would take away citizenship of Muslims. Referring to criticism that the Act had left out Muslims, Mr. Nadda said the community was not a minority in those countries.
He said “today’s Dalit leaders” were opposing the Act, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the “biggest protector of Dalits”.