Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday broke his silence on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), saying the CAA had nothing to do with Indian citizens but his party, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), did not support the NRC. He appealed to people to let peace prevail and not to indulge in spreading rumours.
Mr. Patnaik’s clarification on the issue came before he left for Delhi on a four-day trip.
“The Citizenship (Amendment) Act has nothing to do with Indian citizens. It only deals with foreigners. The Biju Janata Dal MPs, both in the Lok Sabha and in the Rajya Sabha, have made it clear that we do not support the NRC. I would appeal to our citizens to let peace prevail and not to indulge in rumour-mongering,” he said.
On Tuesday, hundreds of Muslims staged a peaceful protest against the CAA and the NRC in Bhubaneswar and urged Mr. Patnaik to clarify his government’s stand on the issue. The protesters demanded that both the CAA and the NRC should not be implemented in Odisha.
A delegation of Muslims, which met the Chief Minister on December 13, had claimed that Mr. Patnaik had assured them that there was no need to panic over the CAA or the NRC.
Muslims, who comprise only 2.2% of Odisha’s population as per the 2011 census, had been apprehensive since the BJD MPs supported the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in both Houses of Parliament.
BJD MPs Sarmistha Sethi and Sasmit Patra, who had spoken in chaste Odia in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha respectively, had claimed that the CAB had nothing to do with the NRC.
