Shillong Feb 24: The United Democratic Party on Sunday said that the Congress has adopted a “double standard stand†on the Citizenship Amendment Bill and its leaders and candidates are making a fool of themselves on this issues especially while campaigning for the upcoming elections to the district councils.
The elections to KHADC and JHADC will be held February 27 and the campaign will end on Monday.
UDP vice-president, Allantry F. Dkhar told reporters that the UDP has been liken as the BJP by Congress leaders and its candidates in their election campaign especially when they talked about the Citizenship Amendment Bill.
“The parties that formed the MDA government – NPP, UDP, HSPDP, and PDF have been also likened as the BJP by Congress leaders and candidates by misinforming and misleading the people,†Dkhar said.
Dkhar said that the UDP strongly opposed the Citizenship Amendment Bill, and leaders and candidates of the Congress have no right to make false accusation on the issue.
He also said that UDP along with partners of the MDA government had opposed the Bill and various political parties and organizations teamed up as one voice, unlike the Congress that took the credit when the Bill was not even brought in Rajya Sabha.
Dkhar however exposed that it was the Congress Working Committee that had adopted a resolution on November 25, 1947 that the “party is bound to afford full protection to all those non-Muslims from Pakistan who have crossed the border and come over to India or may do so to save their life and honour.”
Dkhar also quoted various news reports published in 2015, where the Assam Pradesh Congress committee (APCC) had taken a decision at its executive meeting that citizenship should be granted for Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and people from other minoritv communities who came to Assam after being subjected to inhuman torture post the partition of India.
Dkhar also quoted a press statement made by the then Assam PCC president, Anjan Dutta on the citizenship issue.
“Whom are these Congress leaders and candidates trying to fool to? They are trying to take advantage of the people in rural areas by thinking that they are illiterate and innocent. But these Congress people are fooling themselves on the issue of Citizenship Amendment Bill. Even the present Congress MP from Assam, Sushmita Dev openly supported this Bill,†Dkhar lambasted.
Dkhar also mentioned that the then chief minister of Assam, Tarun Gogoi had submitted a memorandum to the then Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh on April 20, 2012 demanding that citizens who had to flee due to discrimination and religious persecution at the time of partition, should not be treated as foreigners.
He also quoted a press statement made by Gogoi published on July 17, 2014 where he urged the present Prime Minister, Narendra Modi to frame a policy for granting asylum to persons who have taken refuge in India after fleeing their country on grounds of religious persecution and discrimination.
Questioning the “double standard†stand of the Congress, the UDP leader said, “the Congress and BJP are two sides of the same coin that focused on vote bank politics, and the people should be cautious and informed, and should make a wise decision.â€