Prime Minister Narendra Modi was at his combative best as he took on the Congress in the Parliament on the issue of the new citizenship law. The prime minister said the grand old party was opposing the law because of its votebank politics, when it in the past leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri had supported the view that citizenship should be given to those persecuted minorities from Pakistan, and not to people belonging to all religions as the Congress is now demanding.
Modi insisted that one of the major features of his government is the commitment to action and the pace with which decisions are taken to bring about changes in the country. Citing numbers, he talked about the works carried out in the field of infrastructure, social welfare, security and economy. Modi also highlighted the works done in Jammu and Kashmir after the revocation of the Article 370.
But the highlight of his speeches in both the houses of Parliament was the political messaging that he intended to send out on the Citizenship Amendment Act. In a scathing attack, laced with poetry, PM Modi accused the opposition of playing appeasement politics.
Modi was unforgiving as he directed his barbs at Rahul Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of the Congress, drawing loud applause from the treasury benches in Lok Sabha, but in the upper house the prime minister was considerably mellow.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said the Congress was not against giving citizenship to Hindus who have come from Pakistan or Afghanistan, but was opposing a law which made religion the basis for it. The opposition had accused the government of trying to divide the country by bringing a law which makes religion as the basis of granting citizenship, citing widespread protests against the act.
The prime minister read out the statements from Nehru, Shastri and Ram Manohar Lohia to suggest that his government has merely followed what has been said in the past. “Pandit Nehru himself was in favour of protecting minorities from Pakistan, I want to ask the Congress, was Pandit Nehru communal? Did he want a Hindu Rashtra,” Modi said in Lok Sabha.
Referring to the 1950 Liaquat–Nehru Pact, the prime minister said it called for protection of minorities living in India and Pakistan. “Pandit Nehru was such a big thinker, then why did he not include all the citizens there in the agreement instead of the minorities there? What we are saying today, was the same thing with Nehru ji," PM said in Lok Sabha.
Modi drew a distinction between his policy and that of Nehru. Obliquely referring to Nehru, he said, “Someone had to become prime minister; so a line was drawn in India and the country was divided...I want to clearly state that with the coming of the Citizenship Amendment Act, there will be no impact on any citizen of India, practicing any faith.”
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In Rajya Sabha, Modi quoted Shastri and Lohia to highlight how these leaders too had supported citizenship for the persecuted minorities from neighbouring countries. “Minorities is your favorite word. Then why are you not pained by the atrocities suffered by minorities in neighbouring countries,” Modi said in Rajya Sabha as he accused the opposition of misguiding and spreading misinformation on the CAA and the NPR exercise.
“Census and NPR are normal administrative procedures. Now, because of their politics they are misguiding people. Changing a few questions have been done in the past during many census exercises. These are issues of governance, and now you are spreading misinformation,” Modi said as the opposition benches erupted in protests.
"On November 25, 1947, the Congress Working Committee had passed a resolution. It says: 'Congress is further bound to afford full protection to all those non-Muslims from Pakistan who have crossed the border and come to India or may do so to save their life and honour.'” the prime minister pointed out.
“You brought it NPR, now you are attacking it for your own appeasement politics and votebank politics. Some political parties may gain, but country is harmed because of it, Modi said.