'Communal politics' over CAA has begun; law is not about taking away citizenship: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

NEW DELHI: Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Sunday said "communal politics" over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act has begun again with some calling for its repeal and asserted that the law is not about taking away citizenship but about providing it to Hindus, Sikhs and other oppressed minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Naqvi said some have also called for the restoration of Article 370 and stressed that with its abrogation, more than 370 problems in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been resolved with people joining the mainstream of progress.

Talking to reporters after attending a mass marriage function in Uttar Pradesh's Rampur, the minister said that the era of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has demolished the “legacy of cut, commission and corruption".

He said the Modi and the Adityanath governments have brought an end to the politics promoting "riots and mafia".

"The Modi and Yogi era has created fear among the corrupt and the mafia," he was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his office.

Referring to the discourse in some quarters following the government's decision to repeal three farm laws, Naqvi said that "communal politics has begun on Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and Article 370".

"Somebody says CAA should be repealed and Article 370 should be restored. These people know very well that CAA isn't about taking away citizenship but providing citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs and other oppressed minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh," he said.

The minority affairs minister said that with the abrogation of Article 370, over 370 problems have been resolved in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, and people have been brought in the mainstream of development and progress.

After Prime Minister Modi announced the repeal of farm laws, prominent Muslim organisation Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind on Friday had urged the government to take back the CAA as well.

BSP MP from Amroha Kunwar Danish Ali also called for the repeal of the CAA "without further delay".

The CAA was notified on December 12, 2019, and came into force from January 10 last year.

After the CAA was passed by Parliament, widespread protests were witnessed in different parts of the country.

The CAA is aimed at granting Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities like Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

In his remarks, Naqvi also slammed Pakistan over its reported allegations of Muslims being targeted in India.

He said it is very surprising that Pakistan is giving a lecture to India regarding the rights of minorities and the irony is that some political parties in India are trying to support the “Bharat bashing brigade” in their conspiracy to defame the inclusive culture of India.

India doesn't need a certificate regarding rights of minorities from a country like Pakistan which has set records in atrocities against minorities, the minority affairs minister said.

At the time of the Partition, the population of minorities in Pakistan was more than 24 per cent, which is now at just about 2 per cent.

Thousands of places of worship of Hindus and Sikhs have been demolished in Pakistan, he said.

On the other hand, there are about three lakh active mosques in India, there are lakhs of other places of worship including temples, churches, and gurdwaras, Naqvi asserted.

The religious, social, educational and constitutional rights of minorities are absolutely safe in India, he asserted.

In India, minorities have equal share in the development of the country and in the empowerment that is taking place, Naqvi said.

He said that it is laughable that Pakistan, which is a "jungle of atrocities", is trying to preach India which is the biggest secular and democratic country in the world.

Pointing out that bomb blasts take place regularly in places of worship in Pakistan, Naqvi said thousands of innocent people are being killed there.

Displaying the height of hypocrisy, Pakistan is now shedding "crocodile tears" on the rights of minorities in India, he said.

Everybody knows that India is the best and safest place in the world for minorities, Naqvi asserted.

He said those who question "Hindutva" are conspiring to defame the inclusive cultural commitment of India.

"Hindutva" is the guarantee of secularism and inclusivity, the minister said Only a person with an "insane mindset" can attack or question "Hindutva", he added.

Attack or conspiracy against the culture of "Hindutva" is a conspiracy to harm the soul of India, he said.

The statement said that under the mass marriage scheme in Rampur, 225 couples tied the knot, including 132 Hindu and 93 Muslim couples.

Naqvi gave blessings to the newly married couples and wished them a bright future, it said.