Kejriwal Hits out at Centre over CAA; Hindu, Sikh Refugees Stage Protest Near His Residence

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday hit out at the Centre over the implementation of CAA, saying that the Centre was allowing minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to come to India. Meanwhile, Hindu and Sikh refugees staged a protest near Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence.

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal slammed the BJP-led Centre on Thursday over the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), saying an unimaginable number of people will come to India with the doors opening for minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

Reacting to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's reported comments against him over the CAA, Kejriwal said the country is important. "He (Shah) has called me corrupt, but I am not important, the country is important. He did not answer the questions raised by me. He only abused me," the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said at a digital press conference.

Meanwhile, Hindu and Sikh refugees living in various parts of Delhi staged a protest near Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's Civil Lines residence here on Thursday, demanding an apology from him over his statements against the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). The protesters assembled near the Chandgiram Akhara and attempted to march towards Kejriwal's bungalow, but were stopped by police.

The protesters said Kejriwal should withdraw his statements against the CAA and refugees and tender an apology. Hindu and Sikh refugees living in Rohini, Adarsh Nagar, near Signature Bridge and Majnu ka Tilla took part in the protest.

At a press conference here on Wednesday, Kejriwal alleged that the implementation of the CAA ahead of the Lok Sabha polls was "dirty vote-bank politics" of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and asserted that people want the law to be repealed. He also slammed the BJP, saying it wants to bring in poor people hailing from minority communities in neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, and settle them here by giving them jobs and houses that rightfully belong to locals.

On Thursday, Kejriwal asked the Centre from where will jobs, houses and resources come for the refugees coming to India from Pakistan and Bangladesh.

"A bigger migration than that in 1947 will happen due to the implementation of the CAA. There are 2.5 crore to 3 crore minorities in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. An unimaginable number of people will come to India if the doors are thrown open for the minorities of neighbouring countries," he claimed.

Kejriwal said the Centre says those who came to India before December 31, 2014 will be granted citizenship. "What I want to ask them is, did people stop entering India after 2014? Earlier, infiltrators were scared of getting caught and punished but the CAA will do away with that fear. Infiltrators are still entering the country," he said.

"Rohingyas came to India during your (BJP's) regime. Will you give jobs and ration cards to Pakistani infiltrators? Spending taxpayers' money on minorities from other countries is not acceptable. "Implementing the CAA will make the country unsafe and create a law-and-order situation," the AAP leader claimed.

The Centre implemented the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 on Monday, paving the way for grant of citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014.