New Delhi: Delhi’s Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, on Wednesday, vehemently criticized the timing of the Citizenship Amendment Act’s enforcement just before the Lok Sabha elections, labeling it as a “dirty vote bank politics” of the BJP and asserted that people want this law to be repealed.
At a press conference, he highlighted that the law has essentially paved the way for a significant influx of impoverished minorities from Pakistan and Bangladesh into India.
“There are 3.5 crore minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The BJP wants to spend the money of our people in settling poor migrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh by giving them houses and jobs here,” AAP chief said.
He further accused the BJP of leveraging these minority groups as a potential electoral asset, suggesting that their settlement in India could translate into a new voter base for the party. Kejriwal reiterated that the CAA’s introduction before the Lok Sabha elections was a manifestation of the BJP’s unscrupulous vote bank strategy.
Calling for the annulment of the CAA, Kejriwal urged the electorate to reject the BJP in the upcoming polls if the act remains unaltered.
The Citizenship Amendment Act is designed to provide citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who entered India before the end of 2014.