PM is politicising dual citizenship issue: BJP

BJP flayed PM for taking "credit" for the process initiated by the Vajpayee government.

Taking strong objection to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's 'criticism' of the previous NDA government on the dual citizenship issue, BJP on Saturday accused him of "politicising" it and flayed him for taking "credit" for the process initiated by the Vajpayee government.

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"The BJP takes objection to politicising of the issue of dual citizenship by the Prime Minister at Third Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Mumbai on Friday," senior party leader and former Union Minister Jaswant Singh told reporters.

He was reacting to the Prime Minister's remark 'I am aware that this (dual citizenship) was promised in the previous two editions of this event (Pravasi Bharatiya Divas) and I regret that little has happened to implement this declaration of intent'.

Asserting that the NDA government was the initiator of the event and had done "more for PIOs and NRIs than any earlier government", the BJP leader said, "It is not correct that the Prime Minister should use the forum of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to criticise the NDA government."

"I want to remind the Prime Minister that this is the third Pravasi Bharatiya Divas event and not the first as is being projected. For the Prime Minister to claim originality of the idea (of the event) is to depart from facts," Jaswant Singh said.