Amit Shah accuses Rahul, Priyanka of instigating riots by misleading people over CAA
New Delhi: BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday accused Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of instigating "riots" by "misleading" people on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and sought to reassure Muslims, saying the law has no provision about taking away citizenship of minorities.
Addressing a meeting of Delhi BJP workers, Shah, also the Union home minister, attacked Pakistan for "terrorising" Sikhs as he referred to a recent attack on Gurdwara Nankana Sahib by a violent mob in Pakistan and asked opposition leaders to open their eyes to atrocities against minorities in the neighbouring country.
"This is an answer to all those opposing the CAA. Tell me if these Sikhs who were attacked the other day in Gurdwara Nankana Sahib will not come to India, then where they will go?" he asked.
Opposition leaders were spreading a pack of lies over the CAA, he said, asking BJP workers to carry out an intensive campaign to inform the masses about its features.
Its beneficiaries are largely Dalits and poor and those opposing the law are against these people, Shah said, calling Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Gandhis "anti-Dalits" for questioning it.
"(Arvind) Kejriwal has misled people. The Congress, especially Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, has instigated riots by misleading people. Do you want a government in Delhi which incites riots for politics," he asked.
The opposition was inciting minorities against the CAA by alleging that they will lose their citizenship, he said.
"I want to tell brothers and sisters from the minority that none of them can lose their citizenship because the CAA has no provision about taking it away," Shah said.
The BJP leader also claimed that Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had extended her support to rioters by saying that she will visit houses of those who carried out riots.
The CAA seeks to grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, Jains and Parsis who had arrived in India by December 31, 2014 from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh due to religious persecution. Opposition parties have called the law against India's Constitution for making religion a ground for citizenship.
The country has been witnessing protests against the amended citizenship law, with protesters arguing that the CAA in combination with other citizenship measures like NPR and NRC can be used to discriminate against people.
The Modi government has asserted that it has so far not discussed the proposal for National Register of Citizens.
Shah said opposition parties have become habituated to the "politics of opposition and vote bank" and referred to their stand against measures like the law against triple talaq among Muslim men and nullification of Article 370.
They also opposed construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, he said, noting that a recent Supreme Court order had paved the way for building the temple.
He asked people to give missed calls to a toll free number put out by the BJP to show their support to the CAA and slammed rumours that the number belonged to Netflix, a streaming service. This number belongs to the BJP, he said.
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Will not tolerate bias of Congress anymore: Muslim organisations of Karnataka slam party
Bengaluru: Representatives of leading Muslim organisations, associations and unions from across Karnataka have issued a strong and sharply worded joint statement, declaring that the Muslim community “will no longer tolerate” what they described as the biased attitude of the Congress party towards the community and its leaders.
The statement was issued by a wide group of leaders and organisations, including Maulana Syed Tanveer Hashmi, President, Muslim Muttahida Mahaz, Vijayapura; Abdul Khadeer Saheb, President, Shaheen Group of Educational Institutions, Bidar; Maulana Shabbir Ahmed Nadvi, President, Welfare of Humanity Foundation, Bengaluru; K. S. Mohammed Masood, President, The Muslim Central Committee, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi District and former President of the State Minorities Commission; Haji Mohammed Hanif, General Secretary, The Muslim Central Committee, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi District; Muhammad Maula, President, Udupi District Muslim Okkuta; Yaseen Malpe, Immediate Past President, Udupi District Muslim Okkuta; Maulana Abdul Raqeeb MJ Nadvi, General Secretary, Majlis E Islah Wa Tanzeem, Bhatkal; Ashraf Ali Basheer, Convenor, Muslim Voice of Karnataka, Hubballi; Dr Abdul Kareem, former President, Karnataka State Minorities Commission, Hubballi; K. Ashraf, President, Dakshina Kannada District Muslim Okkuta; Muhammad Hanif, Secretary, Dakshina Kannada District Muslim Okkuta; Maulana Abdul Azeez Darimi, Leader, Sunni Yuvajana Sangha Karnataka; Haji Abubakar Nejar, District President, Sunni Samyukta Jamaath, Udupi District; Mohammad Rafiq, District President, Karnataka Muslim Jamaath, Udupi District; Rafiuddin Kudroli, President, Uniwef Mangaluru; Kasim Shuaiburrahman Qureshi, President, All India Jamiatul Qureshi, Karnataka; Afzal Mahmood, Secretary, Karnataka Muslim Political Forum, Gulbarga; Jabbar Kalaburagi, President, Karnataka Muslim Unity, Bagalkote; Nisar Ahmed, State Coordinator, Eddelu Karnataka, Mangaluru; Naqwa Yahya Malpe, President, Namma Naada Okkoota, Udupi District; Afsar, President, Karnataka Souharda Okkoota, Mandya; Advocate Abdul Jabbar Gola, Vice President, Joint Action Committee, Gulbarga; Advocate Anshad Palya, State Committee Member, All India Lawyers Association, Karnataka and Leader, Hassan District Muslim Organisations Federation; Haji Suleiman Saheb, President, Thirthahalli Taluk Joint Muslim Federation; and Mujahid Pasha of Al Jamaatul Quraish Trust, Basavakalyan.
The organisations said the united support extended by Muslims in the state was the main reason for the Congress party coming to power. However, they alleged that the party and its government are not treating Muslims with dignity, and that there is growing anguish within the community over being repeatedly insulted by denial of proper representation in political appointments and key positions in the bureaucracy.
Referring to the Davangere by-election and recent developments, the statement said the Congress party appears to have sent a clear message to Muslims: “You are merely a vote bank for us. Your job is only to vote for the Congress party. Positions, status, representation and opportunities in the party are alms that we give. If you question your rights or the injustice done to you, disciplinary action will be taken.”
The organisations said this approach is unacceptable and warned that the community will no longer remain silent. They questioned the party’s disciplinary actions against certain Muslim leaders, asking what action had been taken in similar situations in the past involving others. “Otherwise, a serious question arises as to whether the party’s disciplinary rules are applicable only to one community,” the statement said.
Calling the issue one of dignity, the organisations said it is not just about a few individuals but concerns the entire Muslim community. They criticised the Congress for taking unilateral decisions without consulting religious and social leaders and said such actions cannot be justified as mere political decisions.
The statement also accused the party of portraying Muslims as being wrong for asking for fair representation. It said it is not fair to expect the community to campaign for the party without giving them tickets that should have been given fairly, and then initiate disciplinary action on what were described as trivial grounds. The organisations termed the attitude of “you should have simply obeyed what we said” as highly condemnable.
They also expressed concern over what they described as attempts by the party leadership to pit leaders of the Muslim community against each other. At the same time, the statement criticised certain leaders within the community for choosing to pursue personal interests instead of standing firmly against what it called discriminatory policies.
Drawing a comparison, the organisations said that when leaders from some communities commit even serious mistakes or make direct statements against the party, no action is taken and they are instead rewarded. “But if leaders from a particular community deviate even slightly from the party’s diktat, they are subjected to severe punishment this is not fair, this is not acceptable,” the statement said.
Warning of political consequences, the organisations said such discriminatory behaviour will harm the Congress party in the coming days and could lead to a serious setback. They said Muslims had supported the party to ensure a secular government based on constitutional values and to prevent divisive forces from gaining power. However, treating this support as a weakness and assuming that the community has no alternative would prove “politically very costly” for the party.
The organisations strongly condemned what they termed as mistreatment of the community in the name of political calculation and demanded that such unilateral decisions be stopped. They also called for the present decision to be reconsidered.
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