Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to the people to shun violence and not damage public property saying that the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens (NRC) have nothing to do with the people of a particular religion. He also clarified that the government has not taken any decision on NRC, which is related to the Assam state.

Addressing a largely attended BJP Dhanyawad rally at Ramlila Grounds in New Delhi today, Mr Modi said, the Citizenship Amendment Act was aimed at giving citizenship to the persecuted minorities who migrated to India from neighbouring countries. He accused the opposition of misleading the minority community. He also quoted former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s remarks favouring citizenship to persecuted minorities from Bangladesh. Mr Modi said, the country had a chance to expose Pakistan’s discrimination against minorities but it was lost due to rival politics. In his emotionally charged speech, he dared his opponents to find anything discriminatory in his efforts while citing the government’s developmental programs.

The Prime Minister dismissed the existence of any detention camps and accused the opposition of playing vote bank politics by spreading such misinformation. He appealed to the youth not to fall prey to such rumours trying to divide the country.

Referring to various developmental schemes launched by the NDA government, Mr Modi said, beneficiaries were not asked about their caste or religion. In this context, he said, 70 lakh people were benefited under the Central health scheme Ayushman Bharat. He said, over 40 lakh residents in the national capital have seen a new ray of hope following the regularization of the unauthorized colonies.

The rally was organized to thank Prime Minister as a gesture of gratitude for the Centre’s role in regularizing the 1731 unauthorised colonies in the national capital housing over 40 lakh people. He accused opposition parties of giving only lip service on the issue of regularization of unauthorised colonies.

The Prime Minister also targeted the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government over a range of issues including the alleged supply of dirty water in the city, transportation and pollution.