BJP hits out at Shiv Sena for Jallianwala Bagh comment

BJP on Tuesday hit out at Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for drawing a parallel of Sunday's police action in the Jamia Millia Islamia campus to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, calling it an “insult to freedom fighters”.

“Equating what happened in Jamia with Jallainwala Bagh is an insult to martyrs. Saying this is also the insult of the nation’s democratic process and the judiciary,” party general secretary Muralidhar Rao said, hitting out at the stand taken by Sena, which first backed the Citizenship Bill in Lok Sabha and then did not vote for it in Rajya Sabha.

The BJP general secretary hit out at Congress for its stand on the Citizenship Amendment Act and supporting students’ protests. He expressed confidence that the controversy over the issue will die down soon as this has “no shelf life” as the issues do not concern Indian Muslims.

"The BJP has already decided to carry out programmes to spread awareness about the CAA," Rao said.

The party has decided to hold district-wise “intellectuals' meetings” to counter the “propaganda” against the CAA, according to party general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Arun Singh.

Besides, all the BJP MPs have been asked to visit the refugee colonies where migrated minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh are staying. The programmes have to conclude by December 31st.

There is an underlying feeling in the BJP that if the protests escalate, it will pose more difficulty to Congress than BJP as “there is a general consensus among people that Muslims are not a persecuted lot in Pakistan, Bangladesh or Afghanistan” and they support the spirit of the Act.

The party believes that the protests are due to “whipped up anxieties” by Opposition parties and “will not sustain” for long as “why would Indian Muslims keep fighting for the citizenship of Muslims of Pakistan and Bangladesh.”