New Delhi: Launching a scathing attack on the Opposition parties over their stand on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Population Register (NPR), Prime Minister Narendra Modi quoted Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to stress his point.
Modi, while speaking on the issue in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday pointed out that Pinarayi had told the Kerala Assembly that communal elements were behind the protests against the CAA.
According to Modi, NPR was introduced back in 2010 by the parties who are now in the Opposition. “Now the same parties are launching agitations against their own decision. BJP came to power only in 2014,” he said.
Modi also ridiculed the Opposition for lying to the people. “Census and NPR are normal processes. However, they are now being used for vote bank politics,” said the Prime Minister.
He also explained the benefits of revealing the mother tongue during census. “If somebody shifts residence from Odisha to Gujarat and says their mother tongue is Odiya, schools teaching that language can be opened in Gujarat,” he said.
The states which oppose NPR are anti-development, alleged Modi.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan had earlier hit out at the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) for creating communal disharmony in the state. He said that the radical outfit was infiltrating peaceful protests against the CAA and NRC.
Pinarayi has been one of the most outspoken chief ministers against the CAA.
Besides organising joint protests with the opposition, the CPI(M) led Left Democratic Front also passed a resolution against the CAA with their support in the state assembly. The state also filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the Act citing its unconstitutional nature.
