Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charge that the Opposition is misleading people in CAA and NRC, the Congress said the Opposition has not brought up this issue out of a vacuum.
Party leader and spokesman Anand Sharma told reporters that Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha is in public domain. “That has to be then duly clarified. It is not the duty of the opposition that has created an environment of fear, insecurity and uncertainty in the country and it is primarily Government, which is responsible for that,” Sharma said.
He maintained that the CAA is a violation of Article 14 of the Constitution. He justified the protests by students. “If the students have come out, they feel for the country, it’s their future, its stuck. On one hand the country’s economy is totally collapsing. They brought India, which was very fast growing economy, very robust economy to almost ruination. Factories have shut down; we are losing jobs, in millions, in crores. Is the Prime Minister not supposed to talk about it? And this labelling and name calling is not responsible statement coming from the Prime Minister,” Sharma said.
He said in a democracy, government takes decisions, and if those decisions raise bonafide concerns and issues, opposition has a right to protest or raise the people’s concerns. it is the duty of the opposition. Those who questioned the Government, or criticise them have been labelled as if we are not Indians and national interest is not close to our hearts. I will say not that it is most unfair, but, this is not in the interest of Indian democracy and our system that such a thing is allowed. Prime Minister and his Ministers should refrain from that also Prime Minister should provide the healing touch, when Opposition did not ask the government to do what it has done or what it’s Ministers have to say,” Sharma said.
Sharma said the Prime Minister’s politics or BJP’s politics should not be centered only around elections. “India is much bigger than one or two electoral victories or defeats that is our advice to Prime Minister,” he said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in Twitter: “Whatever I said is there in public forum, whatever you said is there for people to judge. With PM contradicting Home Minister publicly on Nationwide NRC, who is dividing fundamental idea of India? People will definitely decide who is right & who is wrong.”
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said: PM’s “election campaign” speech was full of untruths, half-truths and misleading statements. “Whether it be the NRC, CAA or detention camps, the facts are to the contrary,” he said. “There is criminal neglect of people’s misery. Unemployment is at its highest, price rise is killing - onions out of reach, farm distress is leading to suicides and there is a recession. But PM doesn’t utter a word on this. Only attempts to divide people, but they see through it,” he added.