The BJP on Tuesday said in the Rajya Sabha that the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were supporting the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act protests in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, while the Opposition said the issues raised by the Centre were a distraction from the real problems facing the country, including the state of the economy.
Kicking off discussions on the motion of thanks to the President’s address, BJP MP Bhupender Yadav said: “Today, a movement is being run through the people in our Opposition in Shaheen Bagh.” He added that Congress leaders Digvijay Singh and Shashi Tharoor as well as AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan had gone to the protest site and given speeches. The Congress and AAP had given moral support to the supporters, he said.
However, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said the government had brought “destructive” laws that had led to the protests in the country. “Shaheen Bagh is your [BJP] creation,” he said, adding that there had been no discussion of the economy and unemployment in the President’s address.
The Congress leader said the government had said Jammu and Kashmir was lagging behind in development, which was one of the “excuses” given for revoking the State’s special status under Article 370 and splitting it into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019. He then cited the Reserve Bank of India’s reports in which J&K had performed better than the national average on 80 of the 114 parameters, including health and education. He asked the government to bring a Bill to convert the new UTs of J&K and Ladakh into a State again.
Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said the President's address made no mention of “the unemployment, which is the highest in 45 years”. He said his party was forced to move amendments to the motion as the address had not given the real picture.
Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena, which broke its 30-year alliance with the BJP last year, said: "The President's address is usually the mann ki baat of the government. There is another voice being raised in the country today that should be heard.”
Speaking of the anti-CAA protests, Mr. Raut said the government should have gone to the people to allay their fears. “There is a civil war-like situation,” he said. He added that the biggest problem was unemployment, which had not been addressed by the President.
The discussion on the motion would continue on Wednesday, Deputy chairperson Harivansh said before adjourning for the day.
