NEW DELHI: On a day when Congress chief Sonia Gandhi extended support to the ongoing anti-CAA protests, BJP claimed that Congress was a long-time proponent of citizenship to minorities taking refuge in India due to religious persecution in neighbouring Islamic countries .

Sharing details of the Citizenship Amendment Rules , 2004, brought by the then NDA government, BJP said the subsequent Congress government had agreed with the changes in the citizenship rules. Through the amendment, the procedure for registration as Indian citizens was relaxed in Gujarat and Rajasthan for Pakistani nationals of minority Hindu community displaced consequent to wars of 1965 and 1971 between India and Pakistan, dependents of such persons married to Indians or persons of Indian origin.

They were also relaxed for Pakistani citizens of minority Hindu community who migrated to India more than five years ago with intention to permanently settle in India.

BJP media cell head Amit Malviya said the NDA government had first brought an amendment in the citizenship rules through a notification on February 28, 2004 for a period of one year. “Then the UPA government extended the rule for one year by a notification on February 22, 2005. Then again, the UPA government extended the rule for another one year. The rule remained in force for three years till 2007,” Malviya said.

He added that the rules categorically facilitated citizenship of a particular religious group. “This provision was enforced by the UPA government in 2005 and again in 2006. There is no authority/ locus of Congress to now find fault with CAA, 2019, condemning citizenship to particular religious groups,” Malviya added.

Malviya said the Congress-led UPA amended the rules to provide citizenship to Hindu refugees in 2004 and 2005, which didn’t include other minorities. “I fail to understand what are they protesting now?” he asked.

