Congress, BJP leaders hold press conferences on CAA in Shimla

He said that until 1937, even Burma (Myanmar) was part of British India. “Why are refugees from Myanmar and Tibet being ignored by Amit Shah?” he asked.

Linking CAA with the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Khera said that while campaigning in West Bengal and in Parliament, Shah had repeatedly talked about implementing the NRC.

“Atal ji’s government added the line — ‘the government may compulsority register every citizen’ – when the citizenship law was amended in 2003,” he added.

He further said that the government could not successfully implement the NRC in Assam where lakhs of people were left out because of not being able to procure their documents in time, so how can it now be expected to efficiently carry out the exercise across the country?

Later, BJP’s Jain, at a separate press conference, said minorities in Pakistan became victims of atrocities and religious persecution, fleeing the country in thousands. “When they arrived here, they were officially termed illegal migrants. One should meet some of them in Delhi’s Majnu Ka Tila, where they are camping, to hear horrifying stories. The amendment in the law merely allowed them relief while applying for citizenship. As Muslims are not a minority in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, they were not included in the amendment,” he said.

Jain further said, “That does not mean Muslims from the said countries are being denied citizenship. They can still become citizens after 11 years, while the minority communities from these countries can now become citizens after five years. In fact, more than 600 Muslims from the three countries have already been granted citizenship.”

Jain said that the amendment does not violate the secular fundamentals of the Constitution as it allows ‘reasonable classification’ while granting specials rights to certain sections of society. He added that, “CAA has nothing to do with NRC”.

He termed statements of Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee politically motivated, saying they were legally and constitutionally bound to implement the Act in their states.

According to a PTI report, he said, “The CAA is a central act and all states, including Punjab and West Bengal, are bound to implement its provisions.”