CAA implementation ahead of polls dirty vote bank politics of BJP: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act ahead of the Lok Sabha polls was "dirty vote bank politics" of the BJP and asserted that people want this law to be repealed.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva hit back at Kejriwal, charging he has hurt the sentiments of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and Christian refugees living in the country.

The Citizenship Amendment Act seeks to grant citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014.

At a press conference, Kejriwal said, "With this law (CAA), the BJP government at the Centre has opened the floodgates for the arrival of a large number of poor minorities from Pakistan and Bangladesh into India."

Even if 1.5 crore of the minorities in neighbouring countries come to India following the implementation of the CAA, a dangerous situation will arise, he claimed.

"It will be a migration bigger than that of 1947... Law and order will go for a toss. There could be an increase in rape and dacoity," said Kejriwal who is also the convener of the Aam Aadmi Party.

There are 3.5 crore minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, he said and alleged, "The BJP wants to spend the money of our people in settling poor migrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh by giving them houses and jobs here."

He claimed that the BJP stands to gain in the coming elections as poor minorities from the neighbouring countries settling in India will become its vote bank. Implementation of the CAA ahead of the Lok Sabha polls was a "dirty vote bank politics" of the BJP, Kejriwal said.

The country demands scrapping of CAA, he said and asked people to vote against the BJP if the law is not repealed. Kejriwal said that had the BJP government at the Centre done its work in its 10-year rule, there would have been no need for it to implement CAA ahead of the polls.

"People in India are facing back-breaking inflation... and the youths are forced to run from pillar to post for jobs, the AAP leader said. "On one hand there is a huge army of unemployed in the country and the BJP government in Haryana is sending youths to die in Israel where a war is going on. On the other hand, the BJP wants to settle Pakistanis in India and provide employment to their children."

"What kind of nonsense is this to bring people from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan to India and give the rightful employment of our children to them," Kejriwal charged, adding, "In the last 10 years, 11 lakh industrialists and businessmen left India. If the BJP must bring people to the country, it should bring them back to provide jobs."

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva hit back at Kejriwal and claimed that the Delhi chief minister "doesn't even understand that CAA is a legislation to provide shelter to all the persecuted minorities (from neighbouring countries) and not to strip anyone of their citizenship".

Kejriwal needs to understand that "refugees from Pakistan and Afghanistan are our own and will remain so", he added.