Politics

Citizenship (Amendment) Bill: Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist refugees need not be afraid, says Amit Shah

Amit Shah, BJP President, while accusing the Trinamool Congress of “misleading” people on the National Register of Citizens (NRC), said that Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh refugees in the state ‘need not be afraid’ because the Bill has been brought to grant them citizenship.

Speaking at a rally in Malda, Shah said, “They are very fond of infiltrators. To expel the infiltrators, NRC was brought but they misled the people of Bengal by saying Bengalis will be driven out. I want to assure all refugees living in Bengal — Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh — that they need not be afraid . We have brought the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill to grant citizenship to each and every Hindu Bangladeshi. No one will be left out. Whether the person is a Buddhist, Sikh or Christian. Those who have been oppressed and have come from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh will be granted citizenship by the BJP’s Narendra Modi government.”

While reacting to Shah’s statement, PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti said that the BJP squandered its ‘historic mandate’ on divisive politics & creating a vicious atmoshphere where minorities feel threatened.

ALSO READ: Mizoram, Assam protest against Citizenship Bill, hold posters saying ‘Hello China, Bye Bye India’

Recently, Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that if the Citizen (Amendment) Bill 2016 is not passed, it will be a surrender to the ‘philosophy of Jinnah.

Sarma also added that the purpose of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was to “detect Jinnahs”.

In the north-eastern state of Assam, India has published a list which strips four million people of their citizenship. It says the process is to root out hordes of illegal Bangladeshi migrants.

The list, named as the National Register of Citizens (NRC), is a list of people who can prove they came to the state by 24 March 1971, when Bangladesh was created.

The list has sparked fears of targeted hunting towards ethnic minorities in Assam. However, officials have said that no one will face immediate deportation and that the option of an appeal will be available to all.

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