Strongly rebut oppn’s charge on CAA, Modi tells NDA leaders

Amid widespread protests in the country over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (January 31) asked NDA leaders to strongly rebut the opposition’s charge that the contentious legislation is discriminatory in nature. “The ruling alliance has no reason to feel defensive over CAA,” sources quoted him as saying.

The prime minister was speaking at a strategy meeting of the NDA leaders on the day the Parliament’s Budget Session started. According to sources, the prime minister said the NDA has no reason to feel defensive over CAA, which has drawn nationwide protests, as his government has done nothing wrong.

Rejecting the opposition’s charge over CAA, Modi told the leaders that Muslims have as much rights as others in the country, Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan said. His Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) is an ally of the BJP. The nation belongs to Muslims as much as it does to others, Modi said, accusing the opposition of spreading confusion about the law.

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Opposition leaders have dubbed the citizenship law “discriminatory” and said they will raise the issue of nationwide protests against it in the session. They have accused the Modi government of arrogance in making no effort to reach out to anti-CAA protestors.

Minorities are as much “ours as other citizens are”, Modi said, according to another leader, and he asked the leaders of the ruling alliance to aggressively take on the opposition’s charge that the amended citizenship law discriminated against Muslims.

The NDA meeting also passed a resolution applauding Modi for taking various initiatives in the northeast, such as the signing of the Bodo agreement and settlement of Bru tribe members in Tripura, the passage of the CAA in Parliament, and the opening of the Kartarpur corridor.

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Besides senior leaders of the alliance, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also attended the meeting. The NDA is united and stands behind the prime minister like a “rock”, Paswan said. The resolution said that the nullification of Article 370, which gave Jammu and Kashmir special status, has given a new dimension to its development.

Referring to local polls in Jammu and Kashmir, it said the elections have led to the devolution of power in the union territory, “realising the dreams” of Mahatma Gandhi as he stood for decentralisation. The resolution also praised Modi for the government’s decision to give ownership rights to residents of 1,797 unauthorised colonies in the national capital.

(With inputs from agencies)