Showing resentment on their party’s anti-CAA and anti-NRC stand, four Goa Congress leaders resigned from the party on Thursday. Later it was reported that three of them joined the BJP.

4 Goa Congress leaders resign from party to protest against its stand on amended Citizenship Act & NRC — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 2, 2020

Former Panaji Congress block committee president Prasad Amonkar, former block committee secretary Dinesh Kubal, former youth leader Shivraj Tarkar and North Goa minority cell chief Javed Sheikh quit the party in the morning, saying they were in favour of the recently amended Citizenship Law.

Amonkar, Kubal and Tarkar later joined the BJP, ahead of the party working president J P Nadda’s public awareness rally on the Citizenship Amendment Act here on Friday.

Read: Congress wants Yogi Adityanath to resign because he would not let Islamists and politicians burn UP during anti-CAA riots

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Talking to reporters, Amonkar accused the Congress of trying to ‘mislead the public, especially minorities,’ on the new citizenship law.

“We oppose the wrong stand taken by the Congress on CAA and NRC. As an opposition, we need to be critical and not just oppose something for the sake of opposing. The Citizenship Amendment Act needs to be welcomed,” he said.

The Congress should stop “misleading people and creating fear in the minds of minorities for political mileage”, Amonkar said. “We all were part of the Congress’ protest held last week against the CAA and NRC. But, we realised that the leaders, through their speeches, were trying to create fear in the minds of minorities. This is not right,” he said.

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Goa is a peace-loving state and the Congress is trying to instigate the minorities, Amonkar alleged. The Citizenship Amendment Act has been enacted through a democratic process and seeks to give citizenship to refugees who have had centuries of cultural affinity with the Indian ethos, he said.

“The CAA addresses concerns of minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Members of the majority community in those countries, who want to apply for Indian citizenship, will still be able to so as per the existing provisions,” Amonkar added.

Read: After Congress, AAP leaders booked for anti-CAA violence, ‘protestors’ question absence of Rahul, Priyanka and Kejriwal at Shaheen Bagh, Jamia

Congress has been opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act while terming it “unconstitutional”.

We had reported how these coordinated protests all across the nation in the pretext of the newly inducted Citizenship law have been a part of a well-planned conspiracy spearheaded by Congress and NSUI representatives who have been working relentlessly to put through the task but without coming in the forefront so that the entire treason can be given an organic look.