New Delhi, December 19: Amid ongoing countrywide protests against Citizenship Amendment Act, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday tweeted an old video of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in which he was advocating citizenship for persecuted minorities in neighbouring Islamic countries. The video dated back to 2003, when Singh was the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha. He was speaking during a discussion on the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2003. Anti-CAA Protesters in Delhi Sing 'Saare Jahaan Se Achha Hindustan Hamara' While Demonstrating at Jantar Mantar (Watch Video).

Along with the video, the saffron party wrote, “In 2003, speaking in Rajya Sabha, Dr Manmohan Singh, then Leader of Opposition, asked for a liberal approach to granting citizenship to minorities, who are facing persecution, in neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan. Citizenship Amendment Act does just that...”

BJP's Tweet:

In video, the former Prime Minister could be heard saying, “While I am on this subject, Madam, I would like to say something, about the treatment of refugees. After the partition of our country, the minorities in countries like Bangladesh, have faced persecution, and it is our moral obligation that if circumstances force people, these unfortunate people, to seek refuge in our country, our approach to granting citizenship to these unfortunate persons should be more liberal.”

He further added, “I sincerely hope that the honourable Deputy Prime Minister (LK Advani) will bear this in mind in charting out the future course of action with regard to the Citizenship Act.” Advani was seated in the government benches when Singh was speaking. Internet in Assam Must be Restored by 5 PM Today, Orders Gauhati HC as Services Remain Suspended Due to Anti-CAA Protests.

However, the Congress hit out at the BJP for sharing the video. The grand old party alleged that the saffron party is using the Former PM’s speech in the wrong context. "There is a Liaqat-Nehru pact and there is talk of 1971. Is it comparable? What happened during Partition, is it comparable today... These examples are fake, fraud," reported NDTV quoting Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi as saying.

Nationwide protests erupted after the Citizenship Amendment Act was passed in Parliament. The act provides Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Critiques of the Narendra Modi government consider the act as discriminatory against a particular section of the society.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 19, 2019 09:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).