Modi, Shah misled people on CAA, NRC, says Sonia Gandhi
New Delhi: A block of 20 Opposition parties led by the Congress on Monday appealed to the 13 states who have said no to the National Registrar of Citizens (NRC) to say no to the National Population Register (NRP) as well, as it is a prelude to the NRC.
The BJP was quick to hit back saying the resolution adopted by the Opposition parties must have made Pakistan happy.
The resolution was adopted at the meeting of Opposition parties in the capital, which had been called to evolve a joint strategy on CAA-NRC. Six major Opposition parties, however, skipped the meet.
The SP, BSP, AAP, Trinamul Congress, Shiv Sena and DMK were conspicuous by their absence. But Congress sources said there was some “communication gap” with parties like Shiv Sena and Samajwadi Party, others said the parties were absent mostly because of local issues.
The resolution passed by the parties in attendance said: “Those chief ministers who have announced that they will not implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in their states must consider to suspend the National Population Register (NPR) enumeration also as it is a prelude to the NRC”.
It further said: “The CAA, NPR and NRC is a package that is unconstitutional, which specifically targets the poor, the downtrodden, the SC/STs and the linguistic and religious minorities. The NPR is the basis for the NRC. We demand the withdrawal of the CAA and the immediate stoppage of the nationwide NRC/NPR”.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi said the BJP-led government has let loose a reign of oppression, spreading hatred and trying to divide people along sectarian lines and asserted that there was “unprecedented turmoil” in the country,.
Accusing the Prime Minister and home minister of misleading the nation on CAA and NRC, Mrs Gandhi said, “They have contradicted their own statements of only weeks ago, and continue with their provocative statements while remaining insensitive to the state suppression and violence that is increasingly becoming commonplace.”
Talking about the nation-wide spontaneous protests by youth supported by citizens from all walks of life, she said, “The immediate cause is the CAA and NRC but they reflect widespread frustration and pent up anger, which is now out in the open. The response of the police in UP and Delhi has been shockingly partisan and brutal.”
She also said at the meeting that the real issue facing India was the collapse of economic activity and slowing growth and development affecting all sections of society, especially the poor and disadvantaged.
