#CAAProtests: BJP tweets Manmohan Singh's old video to prove point(?)
What's the story
When Union Home Minister Amit Shah tabled the Citizenship (Amendment Bill) in the Parliament, perhaps he didn't anticipate his government will come at receiving end of widespread protests. Today, thousands of people across Delhi, Bengaluru, etc. ascended on streets to protest against the new Citizenship Act. Amid the unrest, BJP tweeted an old video of Congress leader and former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Protest
Backstory: Protests started from Northeast, spread across India soon
The Citizenship Act, which intends to provide Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, has been termed "bigoted" by its critics. The agitation started from Northeast, where residents believe this Act would encourage Bangladeshi immigrants, and slowly spread across India. To "keep a check" on protests, the administration issued prohibitory orders, but people defied it anyway.
Clip
After blaming Congress for violence, BJP shared old video
The widespread agitation caught BJP off guard, but it washed its hands off. Prime Minister Narendra Modi blamed Congress for the violence and even dared the party to give citizenship to Pakistanis. Today, in yet another attempt of proving itself right, BJP shared an old clip of Dr. Singh in which he spoke about the Citizenship Act in 2003 in the Rajya Sabha.
Details
Dr. Singh wanted liberal approach, CAA does just that: BJP
In the video, Dr. Singh, who was the leader of the opposition at the time, urged the government to take a liberal approach towards citizenship. He made an impassioned appeal to the then deputy PM and HM LK Advani. The saffron party said Dr. Singh wanted persecuted minorities to be given Indian Citizenship, and the newly-implemented Act does just that.
Quote
It's our moral obligation, Dr. Singh had said
"After partition, minorities in countries like Bangladesh, have faced persecution, and it's our moral obligation that if circumstances force people, these unfortunate people, to seek refuge in our country, our approach to granting citizenship to these unfortunate persons should be more liberal," Dr. Singh said.
Twitter Post
You can watch the video here
In 2003, speaking in Rajya Sabha, Dr Manmohan Singh, then Leader of Opposition, asked for a liberal approach to granting citizenship to minorities, who are facing persecution, in neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan. Citizenship Amendment Act does just that... pic.twitter.com/7BOJJMdkKa
— BJP (@BJP4India) December 19, 2019
Congress' stand
Yesterday, SC refused to stay law, issued new date
To recall, Congress staunchly opposed the Bill in the Parliament, but after the party couldn't stall its passage, it approached the Supreme Court. Yesterday, the top court heard a clutch of petitions against the Act, some of them were filed by Congress leaders. However, after hearing the arguments, SC didn't grant a stay on the law and fixed January 22 as the next date.