CAA meant to help persecuted, not target any religion: Rajnath
BENGALURU: Union defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday that the Citizenship (Amendent) Act, or CAA, aims at helping the victims of religious persecution in neighbouring countries, and not hurting the sentiments of any religion.
Addressing a rally in support of the CAA in Mangaluru, Singh said: “The CAA is not made to hurt the sentiments of any religion but to give relief to the victims facing religious persecution. Certain forces want to create a divide between Hindus and Muslims on the issue of CAA. These forces wish to create differences between the communities.”
Highlighting that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was merely implementing all the promises it had made in its election manifesto, Singh said: “Whatever we promise, we deliver, whatever the cost. There is no difference in our words and deeds. In our manifesto, we had said we will scrap Article 370 that confers special status to Kashmir. From the time the Ram temple issue came into the discourse, we have always said that we will build a glorious temple of Lord Ram. Now, the judiciary has paved the way for its construction. Within a few months, we will build a temple in Ayodhya, as promised...” Singh also hit out at the non-bjp states who have refused to implement the CAA, saying that it was a central law and everyone should follow it. On Monday, West Bengal became the fourth state, after Kerala, Punjab and Rajasthan, to pass a resolution against the CAA.
Defending the decision to reorganise Jammu and Kashmir and nullify its special status under Article 370, asserting that Kashmir is now an integral part of India. “Because of Article 370, Pakistan used to raise the issue of Kashmir in international fora. We have ensured that such things don’t happen now. Kashmir is now an integral part of India. If any talks take place now, it is over Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.”
He further assured that no power can now stop Kashmiri Pandits, who were ousted from the Kashmir Valley in the late 1990s at the height of militancy, from returning to their homes. “Our party founder Syama Prasad Mukherjee had said the temporary provision [of Article 370] would be ended. In January 1990, Kashmiri Pandits had to leave their state. They were forced to lead lives of refugees in their own country... No power can stop Kashimri Pandits from returning to their homes.”
During the rally, the defence minister also sent a strong message to Pakistan and said India will not let anyone live in peace if it is harmed. “We will not touch anyone, but if someone bothers us, then we are not going to let them live in peace,” he said.