BJP hosts pro-CAA rally as 'ousted refugees' stage foot march

Addressing the gathering, BJP working president J P Nadda said most of the victims of 'religious persecution' in Pakistan and who would now be benefited from the CAA are Dalits and from oppressed communities.

'You will be surprised to know that most of the people who have come to India (after facing religious persecution) belong to the Dalit community. Some have come from Pakistan and some from Bangladesh," Mr Nadda said in presence of several BJP leaders including general secretary Arun Singh and national president for BJP (SC morcha) Vinod Kumar Sonkar.

"People who are struggling to survive after being displaced after so many years have been given citizenship and brought into mainstream by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I thank you all on behalf of my party....You all are here to extend your thanks to PM Modi and our Home Minister Amit Shah for giving this new law," he said.

'As much as 60-70 per cent of these religiously persecuted minorities belong to the Dalits, Matuas, Rajvanshis, Meghwals and more such people have come from Pakistan and Bangladesh," he said.

Mr Modi has made the new law on the basis of which 'refugees' will get the citizenship and the opposition is only "misleading" the people for vote bank politics, he said.

The pro-CAA foot march and the BJP rally come about three weeks before Delhi goes to the polls on February 8 and days after intensified anti-CAA protest had resulted in violence in various parts of the capital largely in December 2019.

"Both Mahatma Gandhiji and Jawaharlal Nehru had supported the idea of helping persecuted minorities in Pakistan," he said adding in 1947 Gandhiji had said - Hindus and Buddhists who are facing hardship and other problems in Pakistan should be brought to India and helped with government jobs.

Pt Nehru had said in 1948 that the 'relief funds' earmarked for the refugees should also help those who faced persecution in Pakistan, he said.

'Dr Manmohan Singh had in the Rajya Sabha on December 18, 2003, said to the then Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani ji that there are minorities who are being persecuted. Now that Modiji has done it, they are trying to draw political benefits by opposing it," Mr Nadda said.

Lashing out at the Congress for accepting partition, Mr Nadda, who is set to take over as new party chief on Monday, said "Partition of India on the basis of religion was 'nasur (chronic problem)' of the 20th century".

"......no body knows Pakistan better than you all," he told the gathering.

"People had to leave their houses, their traditions, their land and everything behind to re-settle in a different country," he said.