Amid CAA row, NCP leader says Hindus may not be able to tell where their grandfather was cremated

In remarks that could stir controversy, NCP leader Jitendra Awhad and Maharashtra Minister on Monday alleged that ancestors of people sitting at the throne in Delhi "were appeasing" Britishers at a time his father was embracing death sentence for the sake of the country.

He made the remarks at a rally here against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and in support of the stance of several opposition parties against the National Population Register. The opposition parties have accused the BJP-led coalition of trying to bring the National Register of Citizenship.

Awhad, who is Maharashtra Housing Minister, also said Muslims can tell where their grandfather was buried but Hindus may not be able to tell the place where the last rites of their ancestors were performed.

"I would ask the (people at) throne in Delhi, will you ask me proof of my being an Indian. Then listen, when your father was licking the boots of the British after bowing to them, my father was embracing the death and raising slogans inquilab zindabad," he said.

"I want to ask, my Hindu brothers are sitting here, where your grandfather's last rites took place? Muslim can tell where the graveyard is," he added.

Awhad said Citizenship Amendment Act was not only against Muslims but against other communities and notified tribes. The government has said NPR and NRC were not linked and there has been no discussion on NRC.

The CAA grants citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.