Days after reports of stone-pelting at the Nankana Sahib gurudwara in Pakistan’s Punjab province, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that the alleged attack was an ‘answer’ to all those protesting the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act. At a BJP rally in Delhi on Sunday, he asked, “Look at what happened at Nankana Sahib and the way they were attacked, where will our Sikh brothers go if not India?”
However, according to the CAA, a law proposed by Amit Shah himself, the cut off date for citizenship is December 31, 2014, which would not include victims, if any, of the latest incident.
The controversial law, which leaves out Muslims, aims to provide protection to Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Parsi, Jain and Buddhist refugees forced to seek shelter in India. The applicant must have entered India on or before December 31, 2014 and under the law, would not be considered an illegal immigrant.
The Home Minister accused Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi of instigating riots in reference to protests have rocked the country since the passage of the law. With a police crackdown against protests, at least 25 people are estimated to have died during the protests with 19 killed in Uttar Pradesh alone.
A day after reports of violence emerged, BJP MP and spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi condemned the attack at the birthplace of Guru Nanak, the first Guru of the Sikhs. She said, “This not only justifies an Act like CAA but also stresses the need for its immediate implementation. Pakistan now proves that CAA is right and that it is timely.” The Ministry of External Affairs has called upon Pakistan to ensure the safety and security of Sikhs in the country.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has denied that the holy site was desecrated or destroyed, stating that it remained 'untouched and undamaged'. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted that the incident was ‘against his vision’ and would 'find zero tolerance and protection from the government, including police and judiciary.'