<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday invoked Jawaharlal Nehru to launch a strong defence of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and hit out at the opposition for taking the country on a dangerous path of anarchy by instigating protests against the law.</p>.<p>Modi also hit out at the opposition for misleading the people over “routine administrative exercise” such as updating the National Population Register (NPR) purely to pursue vote bank politics and dismissed the revision of the questionaire as “minor changes” to keep in step with changing times.</p>.<p>Replying to debates in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address, Modi quoted Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and resolutions of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) that favoured grant of Indian citizenship for religious minorities from Pakistan.</p>.<p>Quoting Nehru, Modi said the first prime minister had categorically stated that India will have to differentiate between Hindu refugees and immigrants and the country has the responsibility of supporting Hindu refugees who are facing persecution.</p>.<p>“I would like to ask Congress, was Pandit Nehru communal? Was he trying to create differences between Hindus and Muslims? Did he want to create a Hindu Rashtra by making these statements,” Modi asked.</p>.<p>He hit out at opposition accusing it settting off on a dangerous path of anarchy by misleading and instigating the nation on the CAA.</p>.<p>“Just imagine, if the Rajasthan assembly passes a law and nobody is ready to accept it and resort to protests. What situation it would lead to? … Can you run a country like this? This will be the road to anarchy,” the Prime Minister said.</p>.<p>Modi also asserted in the Lok Sabha that the CAA will not affect any citizen of India, particularly minorities, rejecting allegations by the opposition that his government wanted to turn India into a Hindu nation.</p>.<p>In the Lok Sabha, Modi took potshots at Rahul Gandhi, referring to him as “tubelight” for interrupting him after 40-minutes into the speech. In tongue-in-cheek remarks, Modi also complimented Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for promoting the 'fit India movement' by repeatedly getting up in his seat for commenting on his speech.</p>.<p>Opposition members also heckled Modi throughout his 100-minute speech in the Lok Sabha, constantly reminding him to speak on unemployment and the National Register of Citizens.</p>.<p>“While we work hard for the nation, we will ensure that you (Opposition) remain jobless,” Modi said pointing at the opposition benches. The Prime Minister accused the Congress and its “ecosystem” of creating turmoil in the country by instilling an imaginary fear in the minds of the people against the CAA.</p>.<p>“Pakistan also speaks the same language. Pakistan played every game to mislead Indian Muslims. That country's attempts have failed. But, what is surprising is that those rejected by the voters have resorted to misleading the nation,” Modi said.</p>.<p>Modi also hit out at the Congress for reminding the BJP that key slogans during the freedom struggle were coined by prominent Muslim leaders.</p>.<p>“In the eyes of the Congress, these leaders were always Muslims. But we see them as Indians,” Modi said adding that in his youth he was fortunate enough to have touched the feet of Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, also known as Frontier Gandhi.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday invoked Jawaharlal Nehru to launch a strong defence of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and hit out at the opposition for taking the country on a dangerous path of anarchy by instigating protests against the law.</p>.<p>Modi also hit out at the opposition for misleading the people over “routine administrative exercise” such as updating the National Population Register (NPR) purely to pursue vote bank politics and dismissed the revision of the questionaire as “minor changes” to keep in step with changing times.</p>.<p>Replying to debates in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address, Modi quoted Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and resolutions of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) that favoured grant of Indian citizenship for religious minorities from Pakistan.</p>.<p>Quoting Nehru, Modi said the first prime minister had categorically stated that India will have to differentiate between Hindu refugees and immigrants and the country has the responsibility of supporting Hindu refugees who are facing persecution.</p>.<p>“I would like to ask Congress, was Pandit Nehru communal? Was he trying to create differences between Hindus and Muslims? Did he want to create a Hindu Rashtra by making these statements,” Modi asked.</p>.<p>He hit out at opposition accusing it settting off on a dangerous path of anarchy by misleading and instigating the nation on the CAA.</p>.<p>“Just imagine, if the Rajasthan assembly passes a law and nobody is ready to accept it and resort to protests. What situation it would lead to? … Can you run a country like this? This will be the road to anarchy,” the Prime Minister said.</p>.<p>Modi also asserted in the Lok Sabha that the CAA will not affect any citizen of India, particularly minorities, rejecting allegations by the opposition that his government wanted to turn India into a Hindu nation.</p>.<p>In the Lok Sabha, Modi took potshots at Rahul Gandhi, referring to him as “tubelight” for interrupting him after 40-minutes into the speech. In tongue-in-cheek remarks, Modi also complimented Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for promoting the 'fit India movement' by repeatedly getting up in his seat for commenting on his speech.</p>.<p>Opposition members also heckled Modi throughout his 100-minute speech in the Lok Sabha, constantly reminding him to speak on unemployment and the National Register of Citizens.</p>.<p>“While we work hard for the nation, we will ensure that you (Opposition) remain jobless,” Modi said pointing at the opposition benches. The Prime Minister accused the Congress and its “ecosystem” of creating turmoil in the country by instilling an imaginary fear in the minds of the people against the CAA.</p>.<p>“Pakistan also speaks the same language. Pakistan played every game to mislead Indian Muslims. That country's attempts have failed. But, what is surprising is that those rejected by the voters have resorted to misleading the nation,” Modi said.</p>.<p>Modi also hit out at the Congress for reminding the BJP that key slogans during the freedom struggle were coined by prominent Muslim leaders.</p>.<p>“In the eyes of the Congress, these leaders were always Muslims. But we see them as Indians,” Modi said adding that in his youth he was fortunate enough to have touched the feet of Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, also known as Frontier Gandhi.</p>
