NEW DELHI: With anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) agitations taking place in various parts of the country with support of opposition parties,
BJP has pointed out that rival leaders had strongly advocated the same legislation in the past.
After circulating statements of several prominent leaders including Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi supporting citizenship to persecuted minorities, BJP on Thursday circulated a video of Rajya Sabha proceedings in 2003 when
Manmohan Singh demanded citizenship for
persecuted refugees for which he suggested that a liberal approach be adopted.
The clip is from a debate on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill which was brought by the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government and Singh was speaking as leader of opposition, representing Congress.
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“While I am on this subject, I would like to say something about the treatment of refugees. After the partition of our country, the minorities in countries like Bangladesh have faced persecution, and it is our moral obligation that if circumstances force people, these unfortunate people, to seek refuge in our country, our approach to granting citizenship to these unfortunate persons should be more liberal. I sincerely hope that the deputy prime minister will bear this in mind in charting out the future course of action with regard to the Citizenship Act,” Singh said in Rajya Sabha.
Then deputy chairman Najma Heptullah agreed and said, “Mr Advani, the minorities in Pakistan are also suffering. They have to be taken care of too.” The deputy PM L K Advani, who is seen sitting with the then parliamentary affairs minister Pramod Mahajan, said in affirmation, “Madam, I fully endorse that view.”
Union minister Jitendra Singh said the new citizenship law seeks to implement exactly the suggestions given by former PM Manmohan Singh in 2003.
“Citizens Amendment Act seeks to implement exactly the same suggestion which had been very effectively and logically put across by Manmohan Singh in 2003 as leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha in support of laying down a liberal policy to offer citizenship to persecuted minorities from Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries,” Singh said.
BJP organised orientation programmes for its cadres in six prominent cities of the country in which a detailed report on CAA was provided to them. The report included suggestions made by Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru, who too had suggested that India should be considered the home of minorities fleeing from neighbouring countries.
Quotes of others Congress leaders like J B Kripalani, Pattabhi Sitaramaiah and
Indira Gandhi have also been incorporated in the CAA gist provided to BJP workers, who have been asked to reach out to people and defend the legislation.