India News | CAA to Divert People's Mind, Create Religious Polarisation: J'khand Cong

Ranchi, Mar 11 (PTI) Jharkhand Congress president Rajesh Thakur on Monday termed the implementation of the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 a tactic by the BJP government at the Centre to divert people's attention and foster religious polarisation ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

Thakur said the Modi government appeared to be baffled after the Supreme Court dismissed the State Bank of India's request for an extension of time to disclose the details of electoral bonds to the Election Commission by March 12.

Also Read | What Is CAA? Key Things To Know About Citizenship Amendment Act That Will Grant Indian Citizenship to Non-Muslims From Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

"The saffron party is in deep trouble after the Supreme Court's order. Finding no way, it notified the CAA rules just to divert people's mind from the issue," Thakur said.

Chastising the SBI, the top court on Monday ordered it to disclose the details of the electoral bonds encashed by political parties to the Election Commission by the close of the business hours on March 12 and warned the country's largest public sector lender that the court may proceed against it for "wilful disobedience" if it failed to comply with its directions and deadlines

Also Read | CAA Rules Notified: Government Notifies Citizenship Amendment Act Rules To Grant Citizenship to Minorities From Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

With the CAA rules being issued, the Modi government will now start granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who came to India till December 31, 2014. They include Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians.

Thakur said the BJP wanted to create religious polarisation just ahead the Lok Sabha polls. "But, people of the country have understood the party and its stand. The CAA will not be in the interest of the country like other policies of the Modi government," he said.

The CAA was passed in December 2019 and subsequently got the President's assent but there were protests in several parts of the country against it. The law could not come into effect as rules had not been notified till now.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)