Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi chairs meeting at his residence over anti-CAA and NPR protests

Union Minister of Minority Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Friday chaired a meeting at his residence in view of the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act across the country. The meeting was attended by BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain, National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Chairman Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi, and several other leaders. Earlier on Thursday, Naqvi slammed the Opposition on Thursday for allegedly creating a divisive environment and misleading people over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Population Register (NPR). 

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Naqvi slams opposition 

Talking about the opposition’s stand on NRC, CAA, and NPR, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, “They were first opposing the citizenship act, then they started a fake and fabricated narrative on National Register of Citizens (NRC) and now they are raising questions on NPR. Their intention is to mislead people and create a divisive environment in the country for political gains. They are misleading the people and weakening the unity of the country. The CAA does not revoke the citizenship of an Indian. Not to mention, when the UPA government brought the NPR in 2010, they (Congress) celebrated the development.” 

READ | People Gather At Jama Masjid To Demonstrate Against CAA

'The opposition will regret': Naqvi 

The Union Minister said that the opposition parties will regret opposing NPR in the future. Additionally, Naqvi urged people to maintain peace and said that there is no place for violence in society. He again clarified that CAA is only about granting citizenship to the persecuted minorities in the neighbouring countries.  

He further said that the opposition is running out of credible issues to target the Central government. Also, amidst the ongoing protests in the country, many states have declared that they will not implement CAA in their state. The non-Congress ruled states of West Bengal and Kerala have also said they won’t conduct NPR.  

Watch: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi assures minority community over CAA

What is the CAA and NPR?

The CAA seeks to provide citizenship to the minority communities namely Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. This will be applicable to the members of these communities having arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014. There have been a series of protests against this legislation across the country.

On the other hand, the NPR is a register of usual residents of the country being prepared at the local (village/sub-town), sub-district, district, state, and national level under provisions of the Citizenship Act 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003. Under the NPR, a usual resident is defined as a person who has resided in a local area for the past six months or more or a person who intends to reside in that area for the next six months or more. 

READ | Anti-CAA Protests: 317 Arrested, Over 70 Cases Registered In UP's Meerut For Violence

(With ANI Inputs)