CAA notified: Asaduddin Owaisi says Centre's main agenda is to implement NRC, NPR

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday said the central government's main agenda was to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR) in the country. He said one has to look at the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in association with the NRC and NPR. The Union Home Ministry notified the rules of CAA on Monday, four years after the law was passed in the Parliament. 

"Union Home Minister Amit Shah took my name in the Parliament and said that NRC and NPR will be implemented. Their (BJP) main aim is to implement NPR and NRC in the country," Owaisi said. He referred to the Supreme Court-monitored NRC exercise in Assam and said 19 lakh people were told that they were not Indian residents. 

The AIMIM chief claimed that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has assured that 10-12 lakh Hindus will be given citizenship under the CAA Act. But those Muslims who have been deemed foreigners after the NRC exercise will not be covered under the CAA and they will have to go to Foreigners Tribunals, Owaisi said.   

CPI-M leader Brinda Karat, too, has opposed the law and said it changes the definition of citizenship and links it to religion "which is highly discriminatory." "The rules of the CAA are against the character of the Constitution. They have not given powers to the state government," she said. 

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar defended the law and said it was unfortunate that a bill legislated by Parliament is being made a political football. He said the law does not impact anybody today except those being persecuted for religion in three countries -Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

"This is a humanitarian legislation. I appeal to everybody including those in the Muslim community to read the bill. This bill does not prejudice anybody. This type of taking a bill and trying to use falsehood and misinformation to score some political points is shameful," he said. 

Addressing a rally in Secunderabad, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the country's constitution drafters had promised that refugees coming from Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Pakistan will be granted citizenship by India. "However, due to appeasement and vote bank politics, Congress used to oppose it. By granting citizenship to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, and others, Narendra Modi ji has honoured them."