JOIN USClaiming that minorities are safe in India, BJP working president J P Nadda on Wednesday said that minorities' population in India is increasing while in Pakistan they are declining due to religious persecution.
In Pakistan, the minorities populations have come down to 2.3 % in 2017 against 23 % of the total population in 1947.
In India, the minorities population have increased to 14.23 % in 2010 against 9.8 % in 1951. This clearly shows that minorities are safe in India, he said.
While participating in the debate, BJP leader JP Nadda said that the country was divided on religious lines and the essence of this bill is to protect minorities that are being persecuted in nations like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
On allegations that the bill is discriminatory towards minorities, he said, "When they are persecuted on the basis of their religion, then solution will be based on religion only."
Nadda cited an old speech by former prime minister Manmohan Singh in the Upper House in 2003 over treatment of refugees in India.
Reading Singh's speech, Nadda said that he had stated that minorities were persecuted in Bangladesh and had told this to the then deputy prime minister L K Advani that it was the country's moral obligation to make the Citizens Act more liberal to help them.
"We have brought this bill respecting his words only (Singh)," said Nadda.