PM Modi's special attachment to Sikh community not political: Nadda

BJP Chief J.P. Nadda on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's special attachment to the Sikh community is not political but of soul and feeling of patriotism.

He was speaking at the launch of a book "Heartfelt -- The Legacy of Faith" at Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi.

"Prime Minister Modi's attachment to the Sikh community is not political but of soul and a feeling of patriotism. It is the dedication of our Prime Minister to the contribution of Sikhism in making India strong," Nadda said.

Mentioning that Prime Minister Modi has fulfilled many long-pending demands of the Sikh community, the BJP Chief said he (Modi) has deep understanding of Sikhs and Sikhism.

Talking about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed by the Modi government, he said, "Some political leaders do not understand the issues of national importance and created a lot of noise and tried to disturb the atmosphere."

Nadda added that leaders opposing CAA knew that in the past more than 50,000 Sikh families used to live in Afghanistan but as of now there are only a few families left.

"Prime Minister Modi gave the right to live with dignity to people who came from Afghanistan along with those who came to India from Pakistan and Bangladesh," he said.

He also noted that Sikhs who came from Pakistan after independence and settled in Jammu and Kashmir got their due legal status after the abrogation of Article 370.