Opposition parties unaware about CAA: Ram Madhav

Hitting out at political parties for opposing the Citizenship Act, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national secretary Ram Madhav on Friday said either those who are not aware of the new law or don't want to make an attempt to know it are participating in the anti-CAA stir.

Those not aware of CAA protesting against it: Ram Madhav targets opposition parties

"Citizenship (Amendment) Act is not against any Indian citizen. Those opposing the Act either are not aware of the facts about the new law or they do not want to make an attempt to know it," said Madhav while speaking at Osmania University here on 'A Talk on Citizenship Amendment Act'.

He alleged that the opposition parties are misleading the people of the country regarding CAA.

Asserting that the CAA was not against Muslims or any other religion in the country, he said, "People who are opposing the CAA are trying to divide the society on communal grounds as they cannot face Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the political front.

The BJP leader reiterated that the Central government has fulfilled the promise made by then Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi during their respective tenure to refugees who came to India from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

"Nehru and Indira had invited and allowed persecuted minorities from the neighbouring countries to come and live in India. Now what our government is doing is taking it to a logical conclusion by offering citizenship to them," he said.

Emphasising on refugees who came to India from Bangladesh, the BJP leader said, "If we look at the past 10 years, the situation in Bangladesh is getting better. After Sheikh Hasina became the Prime Minister, some positive steps were taken with regards to minorities' leading to a fall in the number of refugees entering India from the neighbouring country."

He further said that the laws of the country are not against any community since they allow anybody to apply for citizenship.

"As per the Indian laws, everybody has a right to seek citizenship. One has to follow certain rules to get it. We all have to follow those rules. Sonia Gandhi (Congress interim president) and Adnan Sami (Singer from Pakistan) were given citizenship as per those rules," he added.

The CAA seeks to grant Indian citizenship to Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.