'Govt open to suggestions in effecting changes in implementing CAA if there are problems': Athawale
"NRC is only for Assam, not all over India”
Bengaluru, Dec 23: Republican Party of India (A) chief and Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Monday said the NRC was only for Assam and not for the whole country and indicated that the government was open to suggestions in effecting changes in implementing CAA if there are problems.
"NRC is only for Assam, it is not all over India.
Now the government of India has also said that any suggestions from anywhere can be conveyed to them in this regard....
My party also supports the NRC and CAA. But if there are any problems, definitely the government of India should think at amending some things in (implementing) this law " Athawale said.
His comments came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi sought to allay fears, especially among Muslims, on the NRC, saying his government has never discussed it since coming to power for the first time in 2014.
The issue was neither discussed in Parliament nor came up in the cabinet, the Prime Minister had said.
Assuring the Muslim community that the law was not against them, Athawale said the government wanted unity among Hindus, Muslims and other communities in the country.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has clearly said that we are not against the Muslim community.
Many programmes of his government like Ujwala and Jan Dhan, among others, have not differentiated between Hindus and Muslims....Muslims are also beneficiaries of several such programmes.
NDA government fully supports the Muslim community."
Athawale alleged that the Congress, Left parties, the Samajawadi Party, Trinamool Congress were misguiding the Muslim community as they are worried over Narendra Modi's re-election and were hence trying to create problems to destabilize the government.
Different parts of the country have been witnessing violent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill which was passed by Parliament and given assent by the President recently.
According to the Act, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014, and facing religious persecution there, will not be treated as illegal immigrants, but given Indian citizenship.
The act says refugees of the six communities will be given Indian citizenship after residing in India for five years, instead of the earlier 11 years.
He lauded the Muslim community for maintaining peace and abiding by the law on issues triple talaq, revoking special status to Jammu and Kashmir and Babri masjid-Rama Janmabhoomi verdict.
Athawale said the altercation between Jamia Millia Islamia University students and police led to disturbance in peace this time, as he stressed on the need for inquiry into the incident.
He assured the Muslim community that the Republican Party would firmly stand behind them.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
BJP will form govt in Bengal with thumping majority: Nabin
Mirzapur (UP) (PTI): BJP president Nitin Nabin on Wednesday voiced confidence that his party will form the government in West Bengal with a "thumping majority".
Polling is underway for 142 constituencies in the second and final phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, covering key districts, including Kolkata, Howrah and North and South 24 Parganas.
The high-stakes contest is being seen as decisive for the ruling TMC's bid for a fourth consecutive term and the BJP's push to form its first government in the state. The first phase held on April 23 recorded a high voter turnout of over 93 per cent, reflecting intense electoral engagement.
Speaking to reporters in Mirzapur, Nabin said, "The BJP will form the government in Bengal. We are winning the elections with a massive majority."
Earlier in the day, the BJP chief visited the Vindhyavasini temple and offered prayers. The rituals were conducted by his priest Acharya Agastya Kumar Dwivedi.
On his first visit to the district after assuming office, Nabin was welcomed by party workers at several places. At the temple, he was received by city MLA Ratnakar Mishra and District Magistrate Pawan Kumar Gangwar, who felicitated him with a traditional 'angvastram'.
After offering prayers for about 10 minutes amid Vedic chants, Nabin held a meeting at a hotel with local MLAs, including Mishra, Majhwan MLA Suchismita Maurya and Madihan MLA Ramashankar Patel.
Patel said Nabin emphasised strengthening the organisation and asked public representatives to focus on serving people in their respective constituencies.
Several party leaders, including district president Lal Bahadur Saroj, district vice-president Gaurav Umar, municipal chairperson Shyam Sundar Kesari, women workers and senior officials, were present on the occasion.
Elaborate security arrangements were put in place by the district administration for the visit, with multiple officers of circle officer rank deployed, officials said.
