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Opposition parties on Tuesday slammed the Centre for notifying the rules for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, alleging the BJP was trying to divide society and polarise the atmosphere ahead of general elections.
National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah said notifying the rules for the CAA days before the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections shows the Bharatiya Janata Party is not confident about winning 400 seats in the ensuing polls.
"It was passed in 2019, but notifying the CAA (rules) just a few days before the bugle of elections is to be blown, perhaps it makes it clear what the aim is. They (BJP) were saying that after the (construction) of the Ram Temple, they cannot lose. But perhaps they feel that their position is weak and that is why they have to use these new weapons," he told reporters in Srinagar.
Abdullah said it is evident that the BJP wants to use religion in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
"The Muslims have always been a target of the BJP, which is not something new for the party. Even in the CAA, the Muslims have been made a specific target. This is not new politics for the BJP, this has been their approach before as well," he said.
In a sarcastic remark, Abdullah termed the CAA notification as the "Ramadan gift" for the Muslims and expressed regret over it.
"They have given a Ramadan gift to the Muslims of the country by notifying the CAA. We regret it," he said.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti alleged that the BJP was following the Hindu Mahasabha's concept of two nation theory by implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Implementing the CAA, even when the matter is pending before the Supreme Court, was an attempt to divert attention from the government's failures, the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir said.
In a post on X, she said, "77 years after partition, BJP is still wedded to the concept of two nation theory of Hindu Mahasabha. To further their agenda they have thus implemented CAA to create another partition among our people".
"This sudden urgency in its implementation despite the case being pending in honourable SC, is a desperate attempt to divert attention from its all round failures and engage people in hate politics. Appeal all communities especially Muslims not to walk into their trap," she added.
CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami charged that the implementation of the CAA was against the basic tenets of the Constitution.
"The foundation of the Constitution and criteria for citizenship of India are irrespective of religion or creed of a person. This foundation has been grossly violated through the CAA," he said.
Tarigami said while it was an attempt to divert attention from the government's failures, implementing the CAA will lead to reducing the minorities to second class citizens.
"It is a deliberate attempt to divert attention from the Government's failure on governance and development fronts. They are targeting the minorities for exclusion and it will reduce the minorities to second class citizens," he charged.
Attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre over the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said there is no clarity in the rules that were notified and she has doubts whether those have legal validity.
Addressing a programme in Habra in North 24 Parganas district, Banerjee urged the people to think several times before applying for citizenship under the law.
"This is a game of taking away the existing rights of citizens and is directly linked to the implementation of the NRC in the country," she claimed.
The chief minister alleged that the CAA was unconstitutional and discriminatory.