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No amendment to be done in CAA: Former MP CM Chouhan
BJP mission to clear air National vice-chairman of the party says NRC has not even been discussed; adds the CAA is meant to give citizenship
Ludhiana Maintaining that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was not a knee-jerk move, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national vice-chairman and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said the government will not change or introduce any amendment in the act.
“Implementing the CAA was not a knee-jerk move. The bill for it was introduced after a thorough discussion and it is to provide citizenship, primarily to those people, who had taken shelter in the country before December 31, 2014,” said Chouhan, who was in town to address a public meeting at the Punjab Trade Centre to dispel misconceptions associated with the CAA. He added, “No discussion has taken place on implementing the National Register of Citizens (NRC), neither during the cabinet meeting nor anywhere else.”
Chouhan also criticised Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh for protesting against the implementation of the CAA. “Most Sikh and Hindus who have fled from Pakistan and Bangladesh have taken shelter in Punjab. What does CM Amarinder Singh want to indicate by protesting against the CAA? Shall we send these homeless people back to Pakistan,” he added, while also questioning the cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu for his silence on stone-pelting at the Nankana Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan.
“At the time of the partition, minorities formed 23% of population in Pakistan; today, this is 2%,” he claimed.
‘Violence in varsities cannot be tolerated’
On the issue of violence at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Chouhan added the police probe would lay bare the truth. “Violence in universities and educational institutions will not be tolerated. Union home minister Amit Shah has taken serious note of the incident,” he added.
“The Congress is masterminding the unrest to taint the image of the BJP. It also has all the experience to create unrest in the country to grab power. They have done it in 1984,” alleged Chouhan.
On the issue of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) taking a u-turn on the issue of the CAA, the former MP CM added that the SAD was its old ally and had supported the bill in Parliament.
He added that an announcement on a new Punjab BJP president would be made soon. During his public meeting, party state president Shwait Malik, BJP state general secretary Parveen Bansal, ex-BJP Punjab chief Rajinder Bhandari and other party leaders were present.
