PM Modi rattled by protests against CAA: CPI-M

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of speaking "a bundle of untruths" during his rally in Delhi on Sunday.

The CPI-M said the PM was "rattled" by protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and declaration of several chief ministers that they will not implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

In a statement, the party politburo said the protests against the CAA and the NRC will continue till the government stops the ongoing process.

"Clearly rattled by the intensity of popular protests across the country against the CAA, NRC, NPR and the declaration by at least ten Chief Ministers that they will not implement the NRC, PM Modi unleashed yesterday at Delhi a bundle of untruths aimed at misleading the people," the party said.

The party said Prime Minister Modi had stated that there has been no discussion on the NRC anywhere since 2014 but the BJP's 2019 election manifesto promised the NRC all over the country.

The party said Home Minister Amit Shah had stated during a debate on the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha that the government will bring NRC across the country and not a single infiltrator will be spared.

It said that the NRC process was to begin with the compilation of the National Population Register from April 1 to September 30, 2020.

"The NPR is the first stage of NRC. The gazette notification for this was issued on July 3, 2019," said the CPI-M.

Referring to Modi's remarks on detention centres, the CPI-M said that the Minister of State for Home Affairs answered a question in the Rajya Sabha on December 11 and said that instructions have been issued to all states for setting up detention centres to detain illegal migrants or convicted foreigners pending deportation.

"The Central government on January 9, 2019, sent consolidated instructions for the construction of detention centres toall State/Union administrators. In November 2019, the Minister of State for Home Affairs replied to a question in the Rajya Sabha that 28 people have died in Assam's detention camps where suspected immigrants are confined. He disclosed that 988 foreigners were lodged in six detention centres in Assam," said the party.

The CPI-M claimed that many BJP state governments like Karnataka have already directed the construction of detention centres.

The party also slammed Modi over his reported remarks during Jharkhand elections that "those indulging in violence can be identified by their clothes."

The party said Modi in his speech on Sunday did not mention "the growing miseries" of people in their day-to-day life.

"The economy is in a virtual recession, unemployment is highest in half a century. Distress suicides by farmers are growing and inflation is eating into the people's lives," the party said and accused the government of sharpening communal polarization.

"The protests against the CAA, NRC, NPR will continue until official notification is issued to stop the ongoing process," said the CPI-M.