Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said that the RSS and the BJP were trying to establish a Hindu Rashtra by implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

"The Drafting Committee of the Constitution had 289 members and among them were people from the RSS. They wanted a Constitution based on Manusmriti but they were not allowed to implement it then. Now, the RSS and BJP are trying to establish a Hindu Rashtra by implementing such laws (CAA and NRC)," Siddaramaiah said, addressing a press conference at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office in Bengaluru. 

"Sangh Parivar could not succeed in infusing its ideology during the drafting of the Constitution even when their members were in the committee. Now they want to change it to suit their ideology," Siddaramaiah said, criticising the RSS and BJP.

The former Chief Minister pointed out that the protests against the CAA and NRC have continued and claimed that the BJP was ‘misleading the public’ by saying that these two contentious laws will not affect Indian citizens.

“We have no objection to granting of citizenship for persecuted religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. But why have they excluded persecuted sectoral minorities and persecuted minorities from Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal and Myanmar? Sangh Parivar could not succeed in infusing its ideology during the drafting of the Constitution even when their members were in the committee. Now they want to change it to suit their ideology,“ he added.   

The Congress party has maintained its opposition against the CAA, which brought into effect on January 10.