Hidden agenda is coming out: MP minister on recent demands to repeal CAA

Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Mishra said on Monday a hidden agenda is now coming out in the open, adding, supporters of the ‘Tukde Tukde gang’ are raising the demand to repeal the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Speaking at a press conference, Mishra said, “A hidden agenda is now coming out in the open. Only those people who are supporting the Tukde-Tukde gang for their political gains are now talking about taking back the CAA. The Modi government has done what it had to do.”

Also Read| Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind demands repeal of CAA

Mishra’s comments came days after the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi said the citizenship law must be repealed by the Narendra Modi government.

"We think that (CAA-NRC) is concerned with nationality and Muslims will have to bear its brunt. Power of public strongest. So this (CAA) should also be repealed," Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind national president Maulana Arshad Madani told news agency ANI last Saturday, a day after Modi announced the scrapping of the Centre's three new farm laws.

Owaisi said the CAA is against the spirit of the Constitution and it was formulated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to target the Muslim community. Owaisi, who also heads the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM),further warned that if the legislation is not repealed, then protestors will "take to streets in Uttar Pradesh and make another Shaheen Bagh".

The CAA permits minorities who belong to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi, and Christian communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan to avail of Indian citizenship.

Also Read| AIMIM chief Owaisi demands repeal of CAA

The provisions of the Act state that people from the above communities who arrived in India till December 31, 2014, because of religious persecution in these three countries will be provided with Indian citizenship.

Such people are not required to present a birth proof of parents and can apply for citizenship after six years of residence in India.

Opposition parties in India and a section of the civil society have pointed out that CAA along with the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is calculated to target minorities in the country. Since late 2019, widespread protests had happened across India against the implementation of the CAA.

(With agency inputs)