Rajinikanth throws weight behind CAA, says no threat to Muslims

Asserting that the legislation did not pose any threat to Muslims, Superstar Rajinikanth on Wednesday threw his weight behind the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act. In his first reaction after the amendment to the Citizenship Act and nationwide protests against it, the top actor wondered as to how Muslims, who chose to stay back in, would be sent out of the country.

Chennai: Superstar Rajinikanth on Wednesday threw his weight behind the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act and asserted that the legislation did not pose any threat to Muslims while backing the National Population Register exercise as "very essential."

The actor's remarks did not go down well with the opposition, led by the DMK, which alleged he was echoing the views of the BJP and Sangh Parivar.

The ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu welcomed his stand that he would back Muslims if they were affected by the CAA, saying it was its policy too.

In his first reaction after the amendment to the Citizenship Amendment Act and nationwide protests against it, the top actor also sought to dispel misgivings about the National Register of Citizens saying the government was yet to make up its mind about it.

On the CAA, the 69-year-old actor wondered as to how Muslims, who chose to stay back in India following partition will be sent out of the country. While a chunk of the Muslim population chose Pakistan, others decided to continue to live and die in India since it was their nation of birth, the "janma bhoomi" and they have all their rights in the country, he asserted.

"A scare is created as if the CAA is a threat to Muslims. How it is a threat to Muslims? CAA is no threat to Muslims, if they face trouble (due to the law), I will be the first person to raise voice for them," he told reporters here.

Rajinikanth, who is likely to float his party ahead of the Assembly elections next year, also pointed out that the central government has said Indian people will have no problem in view of the CAA. The government has said no citizen will lose their citizenship and the law was only about bestowing citizenship on those from neighbouring countries, he pointed out.

Asked about the CAA not granting citizenship to Sri Lankan Tamils in India, he said the Tamil refugees who have been here for about three decades must be given dual citizenship. "Tamil refugees who are here must be definitely given dual citizenship," he said, echoing the ruling AIADMK's stand.

Alleging that some political parties were instigating people against the CAA for their selfish interests, he also blamed religious leaders for supporting protests against the law and dubbed it "very wrong."

Backing the National Population Register exercise, he said the drive is "very, very essential," and added that it was very important and the Congress-led government had also done it in the past. Asserting that the NPR process should be taken up, he asked whether it should not be ascertained who the residents of India were and who were not.

On NRC, he said, "it is not implemented yet and they (the Centre) are thinking about it;its contours will be known when they come up with a draft (framework) for it."