Why is Cong silent on persecution of minorities in Pakistan? asks Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (January 2) questioned the Congress and its allies for being “silent” over the persecution of minorities in Pakistan. This comes at a time when India is witnessing widespread protests against the new Citizenship law that seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslims escaping religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

“Pakistan was founded on religious grounds due to which atrocities on minorities such as Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Christians have increased. But Congress and its allies don’t speak against Pakistan,” he said at a function in Karnataka’s Tumakuru.

He said the Congress and its allies take out rallies and stage demonstrations against the efforts to prevent atrocities on religious lines and save women from sexual assaults. The prime minister wondered why those opposed to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) were not speaking out against Pakistan’s atrocities and asked what stopped them from doing so.

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Strongly defending the CAA, he said it was adopted by Parliament in a historic move, but that the Congress and its allies and the ecosystem created by his party’s rival were now against the very institution. He said India cannot leave the Hindus, Christians and Sikhs fleeing Pakistan to “their fate” and added it was the country’s responsibility to protect them.

Modi further pointed out that the efforts are especially to protect the Dalits and tribals in Pakistan. He also noted the abrogation of Article 370, a move that stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status, was a step towards ending terrorism and uncertainty in the erstwhile state.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has started a mega outreach programme to address the concerns of the people about the CAA, National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR). Senior party leaders and union ministers would travel across the country as part of this exercise.

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Reacting to the prime minister’s visit to Karnataka, former chief ministers of the state, including Congress’s Siddarahmaiah and JD(S)’s HD Kumaraswamy, launched a scathing attack on Modi, taking a dig at his alleged failure over various fronts.

“You did not visit Karnataka when it was devastated by floods, you did not visit Karnataka when our farmers cried for help, but all of a sudden, when you want to launch your political propaganda, you remember the innocent people of Karnataka. Wah Modi Wah!!” said Siddaramaiah in a tweet.

Mr. @narendramodi,

People are fed up of your lies & double edged sword comments.

We want your answer today about long standing questions on:

Kalasa Banduri Yojana,

Belagavi border issue,

Exams in Kannada,

Tulu & Kodava in 8th schedule,

the list goes on..#ಉತ್ತರಕೊಡಿಮೋದಿ

— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) January 2, 2020

In another tweet, he claimed Karnataka is starved of central government funds as there were no adequate flood relief, no GST revenue loss compensation and there was a delay in the transfer of grant-in-aid. He further said, “Before attempting to fool our people, let the people of Karnataka know when they will get their due share!”

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Seeking an explanation on various incomplete projects, the Congress leader said, “Mr Narendra Modi, people are fed up of your lies and double-edged sword comments. We want your answer today about long-standing questions on: Kalasa Banduri Yojana, Belagavi border issue, exams in Kannada, Tulu and Kodava in 8th schedule, the list goes on.”

Kumaraswamy too minced no words as he went on the offensive against the Centre. In his tweets quoting newspaper reports, he said Karnataka’s coffer has dried up, financial position is in doldrums and the revenue has plummeted.

ತೆರಿಗೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಜ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ನೀಡಬೇಕಾದ ಪಾಲನ್ನೂ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ವಂಚಿಸಿದೆ‌. ರಾಜ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಬರಬೇಕಿದ್ದ ಪಾಲಿನಲ್ಲಿ 5.44% ರಷ್ಟು ಇನ್ನೂ ಬಂದಿಲ್ಲ. ಇದು ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿಯ ವಿಚಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೇಂದ್ರದ ಮಲತಾಯಿ ಧೋರಣೆ. ಲೋಕಸಭೆ ಸ್ಥಾನಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ಮಾತ್ರ ಕಣ್ಣಿಡುವ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಇಲ್ಲಿನ ಬೇಕು ಬೇಡಗಳನ್ನು ನಿರ್ಲಕ್ಷಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.ಮೋದಿ ಈ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಇಂದು ಮಾತಾಡಲಿ.
2/4 pic.twitter.com/ycrumLIixl

— H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) January 2, 2020

“What’s the reason (behind poor economic situation)? The poor economic policies of the Centre. After swallowing the GDP and development of the country, the wrong policies have affected the state too,” alleged Kumaraswamy.

Quoting reports, Kumaraswamy said the Centre has denied the state’s share of revenue. “About 5.44 per cent of state’s share is yet to come from the Centre. This is step-motherly attitude of the Centre towards the state,” he said in a tweet.

(With inputs from agencies)