Anti-CAA stir: Congress playing with national interest, says Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday slammed Congress for protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and said it is playing with the national interest.

"India is moving ahead with self-respect and dignity. This law (CAA) is not against any caste or religion. Congress is playing with the national interest," he said while addressing a public gathering during 'Hunar Haat inauguration' in Lucknow.

"Congress is doing appeasement politics. Those who are talking about saving the constitution are strangulating it," he added.

Talking about the Liaquat-Nehru Pact, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister claimed, "It was clear from the 1950 Liaquat-Nehru agreement that minorities will be taken care of by both the countries (India and Pakistan). This is the reason, the population of Muslims have increased by six to seven times in India while in Pakistan it has decreased."

Protests had erupted in different parts of the country including Uttar Pradesh over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, which grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.