Amid CAA row, NCP leader says Hindus may not be able to tell where their grandfather was cremated

Speaking at a rally in Thane, NCP leader and Maharashtra Minister Jitendra Awhad said that Hindus may not be able to tell the place where the last rites of their ancestors were performed. He also said that the Citizenship Amendment Act was not only against Muslims but against other communities and notified tribes.

Thane (Maharashtra): In remarks that could stir controversy, NCP leader and Maharashtra Minister Jitendra Awhad on Monday said that Hindus may not be able to tell the place where the last rites of their grandfathers were performed.

He also alleged that ancestors of people sitting at the throne in Delhi "were appeasing" Britishers at the time when his father was embracing death sentence for the sake of the country.

He made the remarks at a rally here against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and in support of the stance of several opposition parties against the National Population Register.

The opposition parties have accused the BJP-led coalition of trying to bring the National Register of Citizenship.

Awhad, who is Maharashtra Housing Minister, also said Muslims can tell where their grandfather was buried but Hindus may not be able to tell the place where the last rites of their ancestors were performed.

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"I would ask the (people at) throne in Delhi, will you ask me proof of my being an Indian. Then listen, when your father was licking the boots of the Britishers after bowing to them, my father was embracing the death and raising slogans of inquilab zindabad," he said.

"I want to ask, my Hindu brothers are sitting here, where your grandfather's last rites took place? Muslim can tell where the graveyard is," he added.

Awhad said that the Citizenship Amendment Act was not only against Muslims but against other communities and notified tribes.

The government has said that NPR and NRC were not linked and there has been no discussion on NRC.

The CAA grants citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.