GUWAHATI, Jan 4 - Accusing the Congress party of spreading falsehoods regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, BJP working president JP Nadda today said the Narendra Modi-led government is determined to provide constitutional safeguards to indigenous people of the State by implementing Clause 6 of the Assam Accord.
Addressing a rally of the State BJP�s booth presidents and other elected representatives at Khanapara here, Nadda also said that the NDA government is committed to protect and promote the language, culture and heritage of the people of Assam.
The rally witnessed a crowd of around one lakh people in what was a clear show of strength by the ruling party that has been on the back foot since past few weeks due to the anti-CAA agitation.
�The Narendra Modi government will ensure that Clause 6 of the Assam Accord is implemented in letter and spirit. We have a responsibility towards the language, culture and heritage of Assam and we are committed to fulfilling that responsibility,� Nadda said.
He alleged that the Congress party is desperate to gain some mileage by propagating falsehoods regarding both the CAA and the NRC.
�The CAA is only for those who have fled to India before December 31, 2014 facing religious persecution... leaving everything behind, just to save their lives. But here they are unable to buy land, get enrolled into educational institutions or take up jobs. After implementation of the CAA, such people will be able to live a life of dignity,� Nadda said.
The BJP leader cited official data to point out that the numbers of non-Muslims in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan have declined significantly during past few decades. He said that people, who will be eligible for citizenship under the CAA, came to India when the country was ruled by the Congress party.
�Congress leaders are shedding crocodile tears... In 1985 your (Congress party�s) Prime Minister signed the Assam Accord and yet you were in slumber till 2014... You (Congress leaders) are now unhappy because you have lost power,� he said.
Nadda accused the Congress of spreading misinformation regarding the CAA for the sake of �vote bank�. �...I challenge Rahul Gandhi to speak two sentences on why he is opposed to the CAA,� he said, adding, even Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru had spoken in favour of granting Indian citizenship to persecuted Hindus and other minorities from neighbouring countries.
Nadda said Central assistance to Assam has gone up manifold under the Modi dispensation and the State has also witnessed development since the Sarbananda Sonowal ministry took over in Dispur. He also added that barring the BJP and the Left parties, all other national and regional political parties are now controlled by �dynasties�.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal called upon the people of Assam �not to be misled� by misinformation being floated by certain elements. �A political conspiracy has started with an intention to dislodge this government,� he claimed.
Sonowal said the CAA will not be a threat to the indigenous people of the State and added that in Assam the Assamese people will always remain supreme. He said the Central and State governments are committed to protecting the interests of the locals.
Calling upon the Assamese Muslims not to be apprehensive regarding the CAA, Sonowal also requested the anti-CAA agitators to join hands with the government and work together for the future of Assam.
In his address, BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav said the anti-CAA agitation in the Northeast is different from that in the rest of the country. �In Assam, the common people are opposing the CAA because they have some apprehensions, ...it is our duty to remove those doubts,� he said.
State Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, State BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass and State BJP organisational general secretary Phanindranath Sarma also addressed the gathering.