‘Political drama has begun’: Union Minister mocks chorus for withdrawal of CAA, Article 370 abrogation after farm laws repeal

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said "political drama had already begun" with the growing demands of withdrawal of CAA and scrapping of the move to abrogate Article 370.

Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Sunday said that following the Centre’s decision to repeal the three farm laws, the “political drama had already begun” with the growing demands of withdrawal of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and scrapping of the move to abrogate Article 370, which conferred special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

The Union Minister of Minority Affairs defended the CAA, contending that it was not about taking away anyone’s citizenship and also hailed the abrogation of Article 370, saying it has helped resolve many issues in Jammu and Kashmir.

“Political drama has begun. Somebody says CAA should be repealed, abrogation of Article 370 should be scrapped. They know it well that CAA isn’t about taking away citizenship but providing citizenship to oppressed minorities in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan,” Naqvi said while addressing media in Moradabad.

“With the abrogation of Article 370, a lot of issues have been resolved in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh and people have been brought to the mainstream. They are also becoming a part of political process,” he added.

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday made the surprise announcement of repealing the three contentious agri laws, several non-BJP led state governments have started raising the demands to withdraw Citizenship Amendment Act, according to which members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 and face religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.

Demands have also been growing to withdraw the decision to abrogate Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The decision was made in August 2019, following which the state was bifurcated into two union territories, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.