Amid anger against CAA, Adityanath sends refugees' list to Centre
While some states are protesting against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) with all their might, Uttar Pradesh has started implementing it. Yogi Adityanath's government has sent a list of non-Muslim refugees to Centre to help them get Indian citizenship. UP is the same state where the maximum number (over 20) deaths were reported in anti-CAA protests. Read on for more details.
Context: CAA sparked protests, UP Police retaliated with force
Courtesy the new law on citizenship, persecuted Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Christians from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, can get Indian citizenship easily. However, the exclusion of Muslims peeved several citizens who took to streets demanding a rollback. The protesters argued that BJP went against values enshrined in the Constitution. To disperse crowds and control protests, police in UP resorted to firing and lathi-charge.
List of non-Muslim refugees has been sent to Centre
The police excesses earned Adityanath criticism but the new development shows he is undeterred. A TOI report claimed the state's home ministry has sent a list of nearly 40,000 refugees, spanned across 19 districts, to the Centre. The districts are: Agra, Raebareli, Saharanpur, Gorakhpur, Aligarh, Rampur, Muzaffarnagar, Hapur, Mathura, Kanpur, Pratapgarh, Varanasi, Amethi, Jhansi, Bahraich, Lakhimpur Kheri, Lucknow, Meerut, and Pilibhit.
Most number of refugees are settled in Pilibhit
Apparently, the maximum number of refugees, 30,000-35,000, stay in Pilibhit alone. The report submitted to Centre also narrates the ordeal of some of the refugees. To note, only those who came to India before December 31, 2014, will be given preferential treatment.
UP government has also asked protesters to pay up
Apart from sending refugees' names to Centre, UP government has also ordered protesters to pay for damages incurred when agitation got violent. Last month, the administration sent notices to several people asking them to explain their role in damaging public property, or pay money. If they fail, their properties will be attached. Police have also registered FIRs against over 1,000 unidentified people.
UP minister said one can't speak against PM and CM
Now, human rights activists may be worried about how things panned out in UP but the state's ministers are flaunting the modus operandi. During a pro-CAA rally, minister Raghuraj Singh said he will "bury alive" those who speak against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CM Adityanath. "Yogi and Modi will run the country like they are doing it now," he reportedly claimed.
Raising slogans is unacceptable: Singh
"These 1% people are opposing the CAA. They stay in India, eat up our taxes and then raise 'murdabad slogans against the leaders. This country belongs to people of all faiths, but slogan shouting against the Prime Minister or chief minister is unacceptable," he added.
Unlike Adityanath, non-BJP ruled states have rejected CAA
While Adityanath has kick-started work to improve refugees' lives, his counterparts are berating CAA. Kerala, headed by CM Pinarayi Vijayan, became the first state to pass a resolution against CAA's implementation. And West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has repeated several times that her state will reject CAA. However, the Centre has announced that walking out of CAA is not an option for anyone.
