BJP announces nationwide campaign to spread awareness about citizenship law

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra in a press conference said that BJP workers will fan out across the country to inform people about the law which seeks to provide citizenship to the religious minorities from three neighbouring countries who arrived in India to escape religious persecution.

New Delhi:Amid protests against the amended citizenship law, the BJP on Sunday announced a nationwide campaign to spread awareness about the legislation and asserted that it is not discriminatory against Muslims or any other community.

Addressing a press conference with party vice president Dushyant Gautam, spokesperson Sambit Patra said BJP workers will fan out across the country to inform people about the law which seeks to provide citizenship to the religious minorities from three neighbouring countries who arrived in India to escape religious persecution.

"There is no provision in this law that even a single right of our Muslim brothers and sisters will be taken away. Instead, rights will be provided to those who are living in India without any rights facing religious persecution in countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan," Patra said.

He said party functionaries from 11 states and union territories, including Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Delhi, were briefed by the national leadership on the law's provisions here on Sunday before they start a campaign in their respective state.

He also said that party leaders met the workers and a book on the new law has been given to everyone.

"We have to compare the responsible position of the BJP with the irresponsible role that the Opposition has played, especially the Congress. While the BJP has approached our workers with facts, the opposition is misleading the people. They wanted to perpetrate riots and arson," he said.

He further said that politics over the citizenship law was disgusting and the same was perpetrated by the Opposition party during protests against abrogation of Article 370 and triple talaq law.

He condemned the protest by the Congress in London outside the Indian Embassy and alleged that "Pakistan had outsourced its work to the Congress".

Patra said that the opposition to the new law was because it has stopped the "business of appeasement" practised by some political parties.

"CAB means 'karobar ab bandh'. Their business of appeasement is now shut," he said.