Bhubaneswar: The BJP leadership of Odisha believes that it was Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, followed by other members of the Gandhi family who idealized the concepts of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) rather than the saffron party who is now being blamed.
Many senior BJP leaders from the state believe that not only the ideas were conceptualised by the Congress party but now the same party is becoming intolerant and misleading the people on the issue. Many senior leaders and some of the Union ministers are now blaming the Congress for all the wrong things happening in the country in the name of CAA and NRC.
“In 1950, Jawaharlal Nehru discussed bringing CAA. Later, it was also discussed by other Congress governments. Indira Gandhi also tried to amend Citizenship Act to grant citizenship to Bangaldeshis, Sri Lankans and people from Uganda,” a senior leader from the BJP said Thursday.
A senior leader of the BJP who also happens to be a Union minister told the media that the state governments do not have jurisdictions on the matters of citizenship in the country akin to other special powers enjoyed by the Union government alone.
When asked about the objections to CAA and NRC, the minister claimed that states have no power to control matters relating to citizenship which are under Centre’s jurisdiction.
“Citizenship issue lies within the jurisdiction of the Union government. Some people, who say that the onus lies with the state government, are victims of misinformation and conspiracy. There is no provision of implementation of citizenship law from state’s side. Like Telecom, Defence and Posts— these are the issues where states do not exercise any control,” he said.
The minister also expressed happiness over fewer protests in Odisha against the newly-introduced laws. He said despite lesser opposition to the acts in the state, some elements are trying to incite protests. The minister claimed that such acts are in place to bind people together and not to divide them.
