NEW DELHI:
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lambasted the BJP-Led Central Government for misleading the nation on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Senior AAP leader and Delhi Cabinet Minister Atishi has questioned the BJP, for their (BJP’s) decision to prioritize providing jobs to individuals from neighboring countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, especially when Indian youth face record-high unemployment rates of 25%.
Ms. Atishi warns of potential ramifications, including increased crime and lawlessness, if adequate job opportunities aren’t provided to those entering India through the CAA. Additionally, she raises suspicions about the BJP’s motives behind bringing in 1.5-2 crore people from these nations, suggesting it may be for electoral gains rather than addressing the needs of Indian citizens. Furthermore, Ms. Atishi criticizes the government’s failure to attract back high net-worth individuals, businesspersons, and professionals who have left India, highlighting the BJP’s alleged prioritization of political interests over the welfare of Indian youth.
In a Press Conference held at AAP headquarters, Senior AAP Leader and Cabinet Minister in Delhi Government, Ms. Atishi, stated, “BJP leader Ravishankar Prasad stated in a press conference that CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal has given a peculiar statement. He mentioned that Arvind Kejriwal’s argument is incorrect.”
The AAP Senior leader said, “Throughout the entire press conference, he did not answer this question: why does he or BJP want to give jobs in India to people from Pakistan? He spoke extensively in the press conference but did not provide an answer to this question. In a country where unemployment is at its peak, with a 25% unemployment rate among youth and a 42% unemployment rate among fresh graduates, why does he want to allocate the limited job opportunities available to people from Pakistan and Bangladesh?
She said that the BJP should answer whether the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will prevent poor people from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan from coming to India. If 1.5-2 crore people from these countries also come to India, where will the BJP keep them? Where will they be given homes? Does the BJP have enough homes to provide for these people? There is no answer to this. In such a scenario, won’t these people end up living in our streets and neighborhoods? These people will set up slums in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and across the country.
She said that they say that the jobs of the country’s youth are not at risk due to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The BJP should clarify whether they will provide jobs to the 1.5-2 crore people coming from these countries or not. The BJP should explain that if they provide jobs, then the jobs that should be for India’s youth will go to Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, and Afghans. And if these people don’t get jobs and their poverty persists, they may resort to criminal activities, compromising law and order across India. However, the BJP does not have a single answer for any of these concerns.
Ms Atishi said, “I would like to ask the BJP why, even when they don’t have homes and jobs to offer to these people, and without any proper planning, they still want to bring 1.5-2 crore poor people from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan? They should first address and resolve the issues in their own country, such as poverty, inflation, and unemployment, before considering bringing people from other nations.”
She mentioned that no country in the history and politics of the entire world opens its doors to the poor people of other nations. Even wealthy countries make efforts to prevent poor people from entering their borders because they would become their responsibility. They would need to provide them with homes and jobs. It raises the question of why the BJP-led Modi government is bringing poor people from other countries to India. Is it because they want to create a vote bank of 1.5-2 crore people, and in the upcoming elections, fight on the basis of this vote bank?
“The BJP should explain why, in the past few years, 11 lakh people, including businessmen, professionals, and high-net-worth individuals, have left India, renouncing citizenship and moving to other countries. Why is the BJP not making efforts to bring them back? Their return to the country would contribute to the growth of the economy, create more jobs, and help reduce inflation,” she added.
“However, today the Modi government is not concerned about the youth of India, their dwindling job opportunities, or the safety and security of the country’s people. The BJP seems to be only concerned about its own vote bank,” Ms. Atishi concluded.
