'Pak a theocratic state,' says Rajnath Singh; 'CAA making India theocratic,' fires Owaisi

Slamming the union defence minister Rajnath Singh over his remark that India is a secular nation unlike Pakistan, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday claimed that the government wants India to be theocratic. He claimed that the government has shown signs of it after they amended the citizenship law. Taking to Twitter, he tagged the defence minister and said that by enacting CAA, the government wants to make India "theocratic country." 

SC refuses to pass interim stay order on CAA; gives 4-week time to Centre for reply

'Decide the place!': Akhilesh Yadav accepts Amit Shah's challenge for open debate on CAA

Rajnath's remark

Earlier in the day, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that India values all religions and believes that all religions are equal. He said that India is a secular state, unlike Pakistan being a 'theocratic ' state. "We would not discriminate among religions. Why did we do that? Our neighbouring country has declared that their state has a religion. They have declared themselves a theocratic state. We never declared ourselves so. India had never declared its religion would be Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist and people of all religions could live here," he said.

Supreme Court issues notice to UP Govt on plea challenging renaming Allahabad as Prayagraj

SC on CAA petitions

Meanwhile, concluding the hearing on a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the Supreme Court on Wednesday gave the Centre four weeks to respond. On Assam and Tripura, the top court said that it will hear the petitions separately, as the problem with CAA in these two states is different from the of the country. Making it clear that it will not grant any stay on the CAA without hearing the Centre, a bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde also restrained all high courts from hearing pleas on CAA till it decides the petitions.

Rajnath Singh calls J&K youth nationalists, says some guide them in the wrong direction