The BJP has thrown the gauntlet before a garrulous Opposition that has been trying to thwart the electoral process and undermine democracy by fuelling protests and spreading wrong information. ‘You may have won a mandate but we would not allow you to implement the agenda and bring people on the streets,’ the Opposition seemed to be saying.
The Modi government has challenged them to use all their might, create protests wherever they want and bring the government down if they have the guts. The Opposition was apparently lulled that the government would not notify the CAA rules. The government has put them on the mat. ‘Do what you can. Election is the time to oppose us and defeat us. Show us your strength now rather than trying to subvert the mandate later,’ the government seemed to be saying.
Whether it was the issue of scrapping Article 370 or the issue of banning instant triple talaq or the issue of CAA implementation, the government has not done anything stealthily. Backed by a decisive mandate and guided by the ideology to strengthen the country, the Prime Minister has taken bold decisions. Let the Opposition make an issue of these and accept the challenge.
Misguiding people, giving support to vested interests and creating a Shaheen Bagh-like protest is much easier than organising people all across the country and channelising the protests into votes. The divided, discordant and ideology bereft Opposition is now facing the biggest challenge. Whether you will try to misguide the Muslim community or think of India First.
What is the brouhaha all about on the issue of notification of rules for implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)? The law was enacted in December 2019 and the government had to frame rules to implement the new legislation.
There were protests, Covid-19 pandemic and various state elections due to which the process got delayed. Necessary permission was taken by the government to ensure that the six-month period needed to frame rules did not lapse. It is good that the rules have been notified before the Lok Sabha elections whereby the government has fulfilled its promises.
People now have a clear choice: To ratify the decisions taken as per last year’s mandate by voting the government massively, or they have a choice to reject this government for taking these decisions. For those who were trying to subvert the mandate by opposing the CAA, they need to recall the promises the BJP made in its manifesto for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections: “We are committed to the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Bill for the protection of individuals of religious minority communities from neighbouring countries escaping persecution”.
Within months of coming to power, it enacted the legislation. Instead of bowing to the mandate, the Opposition, guided by sectarian interests, decided to oppose the government using the shoulders of innocent people who did not even know what the CAA was all about.
The Opposition orchestrated protests all across the countries to create an impression that the legislation was against the minority community and it would take away the citizenship rights of Muslim community if they failed to prove their bona fides. The CAA is an empowering legislation and does not take away citizenship.
It grants citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Parsis, Sikhs and Christians of Indian origin who have been persecuted in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh because of their faiths. All of those who came to India on or before 31 December 2014 due to persecution would be automatically granted citizenship. The government has not notified the rules and the process has begun through online application.
Why only for these limited numbers of people? The Government of India and Mahatma Gandhi had given a sovereign commitment to those who chose to stay in Pakistan that they could always return to India if they faced persecution. India cannot back out now that the time has come to fulfil those promises. It has a background, a history and cultural context.
Saying the same rights should be given to Muslims coming to India is based on misplaced understanding of the issue. It would be preposterous to assume that Muslims are facing persecution in Islamic countries. Their reason for illegal migration into India could be different. The route to gain citizenship of India is open to them through the other routes.
But till they gain citizenship, they cannot be allowed to influence the electoral process using fake IDs. The Rohingyas have other countries too to go to and seek asylum but they have chosen to go to Indian states which are not even border states. What should be done with these illegal migrants the government will need to evolve a process. But this has nothing to do with the CAA.
(The writer is the convener of the media relations department of the BJP and represents the party as a spokesperson on TV debates. He has authored the book ‘Narendra Modi: The Game Changer’. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views)
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