"Detention centre rumour by Congress, urban naxals a lie": PM on NRC

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Dec 22, 2019: India does not have detention centres and no Muslims are being detained in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today as he accused the Congress and its allies of "spreading lies" over the National Register of Citizens and the amended Citizenship Act amid countrywide protests.

"The Congress and its allies - some Urban Naxals - are spreading rumors that all Muslims will be sent to detention center. At least value your education... at least read once about the Citizenship Amendment Act. It’s a lie and is dividing the nation," PM Modi said at a mega rally at Ramlila Maidan where he launched the BJP’s poll campaign for the assembly elections in Delhi next year. 

"Those who are Muslims of this country’s soil, they have nothing to do with the citizenship law and the NRC. Neither is anybody sending the country’s Muslims to detention centres nor are there any detention centres in India. This is a white lie," he said.

Urging the youth of the country to "read the Citizenship Act in detail and not to fall prey to the rumors," he further said, "It is shocking to see that these kind of rumours are being spread."

The amended law will "not snatch anybody’s citizenship", it will only apply to the people who have been living in India for several years and "no new refugees will benefit", PM Modi assured in his hour-long address.

Since the amended law was passed on December 11, protests have swept the country. The biggest of these was held on Thursday, when 13 cities across India had raised voice, some defying police orders and others - prohibitory orders banning large gatherings.

On Friday, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi attacked the centre, accusing the the government of "brute repression" and showing "utter disregard" for people’s voices in the nationwide protests. "The BJP government has chosen to use brute force to suppress dissent. This is unacceptable in a democracy," the Congress president said in a televised message.

Today, PM Modi launched a counter-attack in his speech. "Former Prime Minister had Manmohan Singh said in the parliament that we should provide citizenship to the refugees coming from Bangladesh who have been religiously persecuted," he said.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act makes religion the test of citizenship in India for the first time. The government says it will help minorities from three Muslim-dominated countries to get citizenship if they fled to India because of religious persecution.

Critics say it is designed to discriminate against Muslims and violates the secular principles of the constitution.