The Union government led by the BJP is committed to implementing the National Register of Citizens (NRC) but no final call has been taken yet in the matter, Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya has said.
Speaking to presspersons here on Wednesday, Mr. Surya said that the process of framing the subordinate legislation on implementing the NRC is not yet finalised and the government was contemplating on the matter. However, the Congress and other Opposition political parties are misleading the people, especially the minority communities, over this issue for political mileage, he said.
The matter related to granting Indian citizenship to religious minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. It is being raised since 1947 when the nation was partitioned on the basis of religion. Moreover, over 70 % of the Hindu minority community members in those countries who are subjected to religious persecution belong to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs, and the leaders of these communities here have been pressing for making provisions in the law for granting Indian citizenship to those who have migrated here. The CAA was to grant the citizenship to them and not to revoke it. The members of the Muslim communities should not fall prey to malicious propaganda, he said.
To a query, he said that for the people of Baluchistan and communities such as Ahmadiyas in Pakistan who are facing persecution in that nation, there is the provision to grant asylum under the Citizenship Act. Moreover, the Union government framed the Standard Operation Protocol to deal with this issue in 2011. They too are eligible to apply for Indian citizenship if they happen to live here for 12 years, he said.
Mr. Surya has condemned the Leader of Opposition for lowering the morale of the police force in connection with the violence in Mangaluru. By denying compensation to those who were killed in the police firing in Mangaluru, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has conveyed the right message to society. No person breaking the law is eligible for any compensation from the government. The BJP would launch a mass awareness campaign to sensitise the people on CAA and NRC on January 1, he said.
