Aam Aadmi Party National Convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal slammed the BJP-ruled Central Government for implementing the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). He said if the CAA is implemented, the money that should be spent on the development of the country will be spent on settling Pakistanis here.
Shri Arvind Kejriwal said if the BJP does not revoke the CAA, people should express their anger by voting against them.
The Union Home Ministry on Monday notified the rules for the implementation of CAA that was passed by the Parliament in December 2019. The law grants Indian citizenship to the persecuted religious minorities _ Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian and Parsi _ from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who came to India before December 31, 2014.
Criticising the BJP-led central government for notifying the CAA rules when the country is on the cusp of general elections, the AAP supremo said, “Yesterday the BJP’s central government has issued a notification to implement the CAA. After ruling the country for 10 years, these people have to talk about CAA just before the elections. If they had done some good work in 10 years, perhaps today they would have been asking for votes on their work instead of CAA,” he said.
Shri Arvind Kejriwal said today the biggest problem facing the country is inflation and unemployment. It is becoming difficult for anyone to run a household; inflation is at its peak. On the other hand, our youth are running from pillar to post to get employment. They are being beaten up. “In such a situation, instead of finding a solution to unemployment and inflation, the government is talking about CAA, which is a matter of great sadness. What is this CAA after all? The central government of BJP says that if the minorities of these three countries _ Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan _ want to take Indian citizenship, they will be given Indian citizenship. This means that a large number of minorities from there will be brought to our country, they will be given employment, houses will be built for them, they will be settled here,” he said.
Finding the Centre’s decision strange as it will give Indian citizenship to immigrants from these countries at the cost of Indians, the AAP National Convenor said, “The BJP-led central government is unable to give employment to our children, they want to bring people from Pakistan and provide employment to their children. Our people do not have houses, many Indians are homeless, but BJP people want to bring people from Pakistan and settle them in India and give them houses. They want to give our jobs to their children and want Pakistanis to settle in our rightful houses,” he said.
Shri Arvind Kejriwal said the BJP-ruled Centre’s decision to implement the CAA is part of a game plan. The Indian government’s money which should be spent on the development of our family and country, will be spent on allowing Pakistanis to settle in India. There are approximately 2.5 to 3 crore people from minorities in these three poor countries. As the doors of India open, hordes of people from these three countries will come to India. If out of these 2.5-3 crore people, even 1.5 crore people come to India, then who will provide them employment, where will they settle them? Will the BJP people keep them in their houses? Will the BJP people give them employment? Who will give them employment? “So, the question arises that why is the BJP doing this? I talked to many people; some people say that this whole exercise is a part of dirty politics to create vote bank. If 1.5 crore to 2 crore people from these three countries were brought to India and selectively settled in slums in different parts of the country wherever BJP has less votes, it will create a permanent vote bank of BJP there. The BJP’s votes will increase, and some people say that not in this election, but in the future elections, BJP can get huge electoral benefit from this. I don’t know whether this is true or wrong. But the biggest question is why BJP is doing this,” he said.
The AAP National Convenor said, “On one hand, the BJP led Haryana government is unable to provide employment to the children of Haryana, our children are being sent to Israel, where everyone knows that there is a war going on. Our children are being forced into these wars. Our children do not have employment and the BJP wants to bring people from Pakistan and give them employment? This is beyond my understanding.”
Shri Arvind Kejriwal said the BJP is starting an unconventional trend. “No country wants to bring the poor people from neighbouring countries to their home. These countries put strict barriers to stop people from neighbouring countries from entering in their country, they make various kinds of laws, do fencing on the border, install electric wires so that no one from the neighbouring country can enter their country. On the other hand, we have the BJP, the only party in the world, which is opening the doors of the country for these people from neighbouring countries. They are going against the convention,” he said.
Shri Arvind Kejriwal also emphasized on bringing back the Indian capitalists and industrialists who have migrated from India in the past few years instead of implementing the CAA. He stated, “In the last 10 years, more than 11 lakh people, wealthy capitalists, and industrialists, have migrated from India to different countries. These people were running large scale factories and industries in India, they were doing extensive businesses, and were responsible for giving employment to millions of Indians. They left India because of the BJP’s wrong policies and injustice. If they really want to bring in people, then they should bring these capitalists and industrialists back to India, the Indians who had left India. If they come back to India, they will invest in India, they will open new factories and businesses, and our children will get jobs. What kind of nonsense is this to bring in people from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan to our country and give them jobs that belong to our children?”
The AAP National Convenor also expressed his suspicion over the act. He stated, “These people are claiming that the citizenship will only be granted to the refugees who had entered India before 2014. But let me tell you, this is just the beginning. Once this act comes into action, then it will open the doors for these refugees, these people from Pakistan and Bangladesh will start coming to India in large numbers. Today, the BJP is saying this act would only be applicable on people who entered the country before 2014. Before the next elections, they will eventually extend the date to 2024, that people who have entered India by 2024 can apply for citizenship, and it will keep going on. This is extremely dangerous for the country.”
“It is a big national threat and the people of North East are most severely hit by this, especially Assam. The language and culture of Assamese is at stake due to the illegal migration from Bangladesh into the state. Now that the BJP is saying that they will give citizenship to these illegal migrants, the Assamese people are obviously very upset with this. Their BJP Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has betrayed them, he should have protested against the implementation of the CAA. He should have said that the language and culture of Assam is at stake, and it will not be tolerated,” said Shri Arvind Kejriwal.
The AAP supremo appealed to the citizens to demand the revocation of the CAA. He stated, “The whole nation is demanding the revocation of the CAA. We will not let them give the jobs of our children to the people of other nation under any circumstance. If the BJP still does not comply, if they do not revoke the CAA, then you must revolt against them by not voting for them in the upcoming elections. You must vote against them to express your anger.”
Meanwhile, CM Arvind Kejriwal in a post on ‘X’ said: “With the implementation of CAA law, a large number of people from Pakistan and Bangladesh will come and settle in our country. Where will they be settled? Would you like people from Pakistan to live in a slum in front of your house? Would you feel safe? Law and order will collapse. And who will these people be? What will happen to the security of the country?
