Asserting that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) would not affect any Muslim in the country, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy on Sunday accused the opposition parties, including the Congress, of trying to create a fear psychosis among the community.
Launching the 'Gruha Sampark Abhiyaan programme' (Awareness on Citizeship Amendment Act-2019) in Hyderabad, he said that the act was not against the interests of any community in the country. During the door-to-door campaign in his Lok Sabha constituency of Secunderabad, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader tried to allay people's apprehensions over the CAA.
"No Muslim in the country will be affected by the CAA and the Narendra Modi government brought the act for the well being of all... None of the Indian Muslims will be asked to leave the country and no Muslim needs to feel threatened," the Minister of State for Home said.
He sought to know from the Congress and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) on why and on what basis they were staging protests and provoking the public and were trying to create a fear psychosis among Muslims over the Act.
"The CAA offers citizenship to persecuted minorities in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan as the religious minorities Hindus, Parsis, Buddhists, Sikhs and Christians in these countries were living in tough conditions and the CAA intends to help them," Kishan Reddy said.
He further said a large number of Hindus, Parsis, Buddhists, Sikhs and Christians migrated to India over 40 years ago from Pakistan and Bangladesh do not have any rights.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had also stressed on the need to protect the interests of the refugees, he added.
Telangana BJP President K Laxman was among those present at the event.
The outreach programme came a day after Hyderabad witnessed its largest protest against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), as over one lakh people turned up at Tank Bund, Indira Park and surrounding areas, to protest the Centre's proposed move.
Read: