BJP Rajya Sabha MP T.G. Venkatesh claimed that the Congress, Left parties and the MIM were lying to the people about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The Opposition parties were inciting communal tensions in the country for political gain, he alleged.
Mr. Venkatesh launched an awareness campaign on CAA in the city on Sunday. Talking to mediapersons, he stressed on the secular fabric of the country and claimed that no Muslim citizen of India would be inconvenienced by the CAA. “The Act only aims to give citizenship to persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan,” he said.
“The religious minorities in Muslim-dominated countries are being persecuted,” he said.
The MP later claimed that the Hindu population in Pakistan had come down to 1.6% in 2011 as opposed to 15% in 1947. “On the other hand, Muslims in India have grown from 9% of the population in 1947 to 15% in 2011,” he claimed.
He, however, evaded the questions pertaining to giving refuge and citizenship to persecuted Rohingya Muslims.
Responding to a query about the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR), Mr. Venkatesh claimed that there is no link between CAA and NRC and that Indian Muslims could rest easy in this regard.
Mr. Venkatesh later announced that a pro-CAA rally would be held in the city on January 9. He released a brochure made by the BJP in Telugu which claims to ‘debunk’ the ‘myths’ around the CAA.
Byreddy goes door to door
Byreddy Rajasekar Reddy, who recently joined the BJP, went door to door here on Sunday afternoon distributing the brochure released earlier.
Mr. Reddy also alleged that the Congress, Left parties and the MIM were lying and appealed to the people to not fall for the opposition’s tactics.
