Amidst the corridors of New Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister, launched a scathing critique against the BJP-led Centre on Thursday regarding the enactment of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), envisioning an unprecedented influx of individuals into India as the gates open for minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.
Responding to the reported remarks made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding the CAA, Kejriwal emphasized the paramount importance of the nation. “He (Shah) has branded me as corrupt, yet my significance pales in comparison to that of the nation. He evaded addressing the concerns I raised, opting instead for verbal abuse,” expressed the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) during a virtual press conference.
Simultaneously, Hindu and Sikh refugees, scattered across various localities of Delhi, staged a demonstration near Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s Civil Lines abode, demanding an apology from him for his criticisms against the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). Gathered near the Chandgiram Akhara, the protestors endeavored to march towards Kejriwal’s residence but encountered resistance from law enforcement.
The demonstrators urged Kejriwal to retract his statements against the CAA and refugees, urging him to issue an apology. Hindu and Sikh refugees residing in areas such as Rohini, Adarsh Nagar, near Signature Bridge, and Majnu ka Tilla joined the protest.
During a press briefing the previous day, Kejriwal decried the pre-election implementation of the CAA as the “sordid politics of vote-bank manipulation” orchestrated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), emphasizing the populace’s desire for the law’s revocation. He castigated the BJP for its purported intention to settle impoverished individuals from minority backgrounds in neighboring nations, including Pakistan, by providing them with employment and housing allocated for indigenous residents.
Kejriwal, on Thursday, queried the Centre regarding the source of employment, housing, and resources for refugees arriving in India from Pakistan and Bangladesh.
“The enactment of the CAA will precipitate a migration surpassing that of 1947. There exist 2.5 to 3 crore minority individuals in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The potential influx of individuals into India, should the gates be flung open for minority groups from neighboring countries, is inconceivable,” he asserted.
Kejriwal highlighted the Centre’s stipulation that individuals who arrived in India before December 31, 2014, would be eligible for citizenship. “My question to them is, did the influx of individuals into India cease after 2014? Previously, infiltrators feared detection and punishment, yet the CAA eradicates that apprehension. Infiltrators continue to enter the country,” he remarked.
“Rohingyas arrived in India during your (BJP’s) tenure. Will you extend employment opportunities and ration cards to Pakistani infiltrators? Allocating taxpayer funds to minorities from foreign nations is untenable. The implementation of the CAA will jeopardize national security and precipitate a law enforcement crisis,” asserted the AAP leader.
The Centre executed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, on Monday, clearing the path for the grant of citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014.