Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury
During the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, leaders from Opposition parties hit out at the government over the new citizenship law in both Houses of Parliament on Wednesday.
In the Lok Sabha, Congress’s Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the people of India have foiled the government’s “sinister design” and Trinamool Congress’s Sougata Ray accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of pursuing an agenda to “persecute and polarise” against Muslims. In Rajya Sabha, RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha drew a parallel between the citizenship law and the imposition of Emergency, arguing that both were passed by Parliament.
“Our people are coming out to save the Constitution from you,” said Chowdhury, who is the leader of Congress in Lok Sabha. “It was your sinister design (that was) foiled by the common people,” he added.
Referring to the protests against the new citizenship law across the country, Chowdhury said people from all sections of the society and of all age-groups have gathered and launched a movement. “It is a victory for democracy as the BJP was compelled to step back,” he said.
The Home Ministry on Tuesday said in reply to a question in Lok Sabha that there has been no decision on carrying out a nationwide NRC.
“You cannot weaken Hindustan (India). We all have together made this nation…. Plurality is the heartbeat, we should save it,” Chowdhury said, adding that the “true spirit of the Constitution” was that each and everyone should feel that this country was his own. The BJP, he alleged, was dividing the country.
The Congress leader said Swami Vivekananda used to say that “our motherland was a junction of two great forces, Hinduism and Islam”. “You are pseudo humanist, nationalist and Hindu… you should become a true Hindu like us (Congress),” Chowdhury said, referring to the ruling BJP.
The Congress leader claimed that cases of stone-pelting in Kashmir have risen after the special status was scrapped. He also asked the government how it plans to deal with rising Chinese interference in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) due to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. He demanded that the House pass a resolution for the integration of PoK into India.
The Congress leader also questioned the government on allowing Chinese companies for 5G trials in India. “This (5G) is critical infrastructure. China will create a big risk for us,” he said and advised the government to think carefully before taking any step.
Trinamool’s Ray quoted reports in international media to say that India’s reputation has suffered and Modi’s global image is being “destroyed”.
In the Rajya Sabha, RJD’s Jha said, “You say that this law (CAA) was passed by the Parliament. Even (imposition of) the Emergency was passed by the Parliament. Was it not withdrawn? Any decision that distances us from the Constitution should most definitely be withdrawn.”
“There is a trust deficit and crisis of credibility with this government. If you want to establish trust again, then withdraw NRC and NPR. Listen to your leader Murli Manohar Joshi and sack the JNU Vice-Chancellor. Speak to the protesters at Shaheen Bagh. You tell us your mann ki baat but refuse to listen to others,” Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said during the debate.
Participating in the debate, SP’s Ram Gopal Yadav said, “It is not that only those communities named in the Act are persecuted. Are Tamils not persecuted in Sri Lanka? Are Rohingya not persecuted in Myanmar? Be large-hearted and offer them citizenship too.”
Satish Chandra Mishra of the BSP said, “Whoever calls the CAA unconstitutional, you call them anti-nationals and terrorists. We opposed the Bill in Parliament and even we called it unconstitutional in Parliament. The moment protesters outside say the same thing, you say they should be abused and shot. Can someone not protest against something he thinks is unconstitutional? CAA has been challenged in Supreme Court. What if the Supreme Court tomorrow declares CAA to be unconstitutional?Will you then call our Supreme Court the Supreme Court of Pakistan?”
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