Charging that the RSS and BJP-led Government had hatched a “conspiracy” to create unrest in the country through Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register for Citizens (NRC), Dalit leader and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) President Prakash Ambedkar on Thursday contended that the CAA and NRC were not only against Muslims but they were also against 40 per of the Hindus in the country.
Addressing a massive rally of his Dalits and Adivasis at Dadar in north-central Mumbai to oppose CAA and NRC, Ambedkar demanded to know from Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he would seek the resignation of or change the portfolio of Union Home Minister Amit Shah for making a statement in Parliament for making a statement that NRC would be implemented across the country.
Singling out the RSS and ruling BJP for a vicious attack on the current unrest in the country, Ambedkar said: “If someone has hatched a conspiracy to trigger unrest in the country over CAA, NRC and National Population Register (NPR), it is no one else other than the RSS and BJP-led Government”.
“If Prime Minister Narendra Modi is saying that there has been no discussion on NRC in Parliament or in his Cabinet, how did Union Home Minister Amit Shah say in various forums that the Government would implement NRC across the country? If he has made the statement without the Prime Minister’s permission, I would like to ask the PM if he would seek the resignation of Amit Shah or change his portfolios. If you do not don’t do both the things, should we consider this an another lie coming from the Prime Minister along the lines of his Rs 15 lakh in each bank account promise made by him during the 2014 Lok Sabha poll campaign?,” Amedkar wondered.
Maintaining that NRC and CAA would affect large sections of people across the country, Ambedkar said: “These laws are 100 per cent against Muslims. But, they are also against 40 per cent of Hindus across the country”.
Contesting Modi’s claim that no detention centres had been set up to house the illegal citizens, Ambedkar — grandson of late BR Ambedkar — likened the “existing” detention camps to the ones set up by the British to house criminal tribes under the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA).
“The British came out with Criminal Tribes Act in 1871. Under this law, the British designated certain sections of the tribals as habitual criminals and put them in detention centres. The tribals were lodged in these detention camps for years on end. It was then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who released the detained tribals from these camps in 1952”
“The detainees were there in these for more than 75 years. Many of them were born and died in detention camps. You will be surprised to know the numbers who had been categorized as criminal tribes and detained in these centres. In Maharashtra alone, 16 per cent of the total population belong to these tribes,” Amnbedkar said.
“These tribals do not have any documents or records with them. Even now, you can get to see thousands of them roaming on the streets in the state with donkeys and horses.
There are also other Advisis who do not have documents.
Here are the tribals who do not know where their fathers and grand fathers died. If you ask them to produce documents, where will they produce the documents from?,” the Dalit leader asked.
“The RSS wants to continue its rule through the BJP in the country. It wants to finish the Opposition. That’s why it has brought CAA and NRC after due deliberation. We will have to respond to CAA and NRC through agitation. If you do not want to locked up in detention centres, then better come out and raise voice against the BJP Government at the Centre,” Ambedkar told the Adivasis who had turned out in large numbers for the rally.
Thousands of people, particularly Dalits and Adivasis, participated in the rally organised by the VBA.
The demonstrators carried national Tricolour, photographs of Dr BR Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhiji, the Constitution, placards proclaiming ‘Reject CAA — Boycott NRC’ and banners with anti-CAA-NRC slogans.
They raised slogans demanding the withdrawal of CAA and NRC.
