PM Modi asks NDA leaders to back CAA strongly, says has no reason to feel defensive
New Delhi, Jan 31: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asserted that his government has no reason to feel defensive about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and asked NDA leaders to back the measure strongly in Parliament.
A BJP ally told PTI after the meeting that Modi asked the NDA leaders, who met to strategise as Parliament's Budget Session began here on Friday, to aggressively take on the opposition's charge that the amended citizenship law discriminated against Muslims and said that minorities are as much "ours as other citizens are".
The government has done nothing wrong as far as the amended Citizenship Act is concerned and has no reason to feel defensive about, he said, according to the ally, who did not wish to be quoted.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders also hailed the prime minister for the Bodo accord and settlement of Bru tribe members in Tripura.
Opposition leaders have said they will raise the issue of nationwide protests against the CAA in the session, as they accused the Modi government of arrogance and making no effort to reach out to protestors.
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Road crash in UP leaves 10 dead
Lakhimpur Kheri (UP) (PTI): Ten people were killed when a van collided head-on with a truck on the Sisaiya-Lakhimpur national highway on Monday, police said.
The van was going to Sisaiya from Lakhimpur when the accident took place between Unchgaon and Bharehta villages.
Circle Officer of Dhaurahra, Shamsher Bahadur Singh, said all nine passengers travelling in the van and the driver were killed.
District Magistrate of Lakhimpur Kheri Anjani Kumar Singh told reporters that the van collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction, leading to nine casualties on the spot, while one succumbed to injuries at the district hospital.
Circle Officer, Dhaurahra, Shamsher Bahadur Singh told PTI, "Efforts are on to establish the identity of other deceased persons."
The seven of the deceased have been identified as Jaideep Singh (25), Pawan (23), Sohan (21), Ram Goyal (42), Sahajram (35), Pappu (18), all residents of Bahraich district and Adnan Khan (15), a resident of Lakhimpur Kheri district, police said.
Condoling the loss of lives in the accident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a post on X, said, "The loss of life in the unfortunate road accident in Lakhimpur Kheri district is deeply distressing and heart-wrenching. My condolences are with the bereaved families."
"I have directed the local administration to provide prompt and adequate assistance to the injured and the victims. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to grant the departed souls a place at His divine feet and to bestow a speedy recovery upon the injured," Adityanath said on X.
Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak too condoled the loss of lives in the accident.
"The loss of lives resulting from the road accident in Lakhimpur Kheri district is deeply tragic and heart-wrenching. My deepest condolences go out to the bereaved families," Maurya said.
