Why is PM Modi misleading nation, asks Owaisi

Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his latest comments on the National Register of Citizens (NRC), AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday said that the Prime Minister is misleading the nation.

"Who is lying? I want to know whether PM Modi is telling the truth or is Amit Shah lying. Modi in an interview said that they will implement NRC and now he is contradicting himself. Why is the Prime Minister misleading the nation? It does not befit his office," Owaisi said at a press conference here.

His comments came a day after PM Modi clarified in a speech that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019, and NRC will not apply to the Muslims of the country.

Questioning whether this was a deliberate attempt by the BJP to divert attention, the AIMIM leader further said: "Is creating confusion among people BJP's strategy to divert people's attention from NRC?"

Owaisi also asserted that CAA is unconstitutional and it violates fundamental rights and the basic structure of the country.

"CAA has been made based on religion. It is unfortunate that not everyone is equal before the Prime Minister and only people from the Hindu community are refugees in his eyes. If he can give citizenship to Hindus, why not to Muslims?" he questioned.

Owaisi also said that he would move a privilege motion against Amit Shah in the Parliament if PM Modi said that the Home Minister gave a wrong statement on NRC in the House.

"Did Amit Shah lie in the Lok Sabha? He used my name and told me that they will implement NRC across the country," he said adding that the citizens would be in trouble if a nationwide NRC is conducted.

The newly-enacted Citizenship law grants citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, who arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014.