‘CAA does not aim to grant citizenship to persecutors, but persecuted’: BJP

Bengaluru: BJP leader CT Ravi on Thursday said that the ‘CAA aims to grant citizenship to the persecuted minorities, not persecutors’ in India’s neighbouring Islamic countries.

“CAA only provides citizenship to religious minorities, those who have faced atrocities in countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh,” he told a section of media here.

He raised questions about whether Muslims are a minority in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan and whether atrocities are committed against them.

“Just think, do Muslims in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan belong to a minority community? Are atrocities being committed upon them? On whom the atrocities are being committed? Who commits atrocities? Can we grant those who commit atrocities?” he said, implying that the CAA aims to grant citizenship to those who have faced atrocities rather than those who have committed them.

Ravi accused the Congress of engaging in politics and spreading misinformation about the CAA. “Today, Congress is doing politics and lying. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has explained CAA,” he said.

The BJP leader also pointed out that even former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had supported the idea of granting citizenship to persecuted minorities from neighboring Islamic countries while he was a Member of the Rajya Sabha in 2003.

However, according to him, Manmohan Singh did not take any action during his ten years as Prime Minister. In contrast, the BJP government has implemented the CAA to provide justice to persecuted minorities.

“In 2003, Manmohan Singh made this demand of giving citizenship to them (persecuted minorities in neighbouring Islamic countries in India) as a Member of Rajya Sabha. He did not do anything in his 10-year tenure as prime minister. We have done it and given justice,” he said.