'If Mahatma Gandhi had been at Shaheen Bagh...': Digvijaya Singh attacks Centre on R-Day

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Saturday said that Mahatma Gandhi would have observed fast against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at Shaheen Bagh in the national capital, had he been alive. "If Mahatma Gandhi were alive today, he would have observed a 'Bhookh Hadtal' (fast) at Shaheen Bagh," Singh told reporters after participating in a book launch in Bhopal.

'We are witnessing something he would never have approved'

“Mahatma Gandhi had many attributes. He always practiced what he preached, especially on truth and non-violence. It is our misfortune that on his 150th birth anniversary, we are witnessing something he would never have approved,” Digvijaya Singh said while referring to abrogation of Article 370. Singh said that Mahatma Gandhi would have also protested by carrying out a 'Padyatra' from Lal Quila in New Delhi to Lal Chowk in Jammu and Kashmir.

'If Gandhiji were alive today...'

"I believe that if Gandhiji were alive today, he would have started a Padyatra today from Lal Quila to Lal Chowk. To address the distrust among the people living in the Valley after the abrogation of Article 370 was the biggest responsibility of those who believe in the unity in diversity in India," he said during his speech at the event. The Central government had, in August last year, abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, which conferred special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Taking a jibe at BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya's Poha remark, the Digvijaya Singh said that he was one step ahead of the Prime Minister in identifying people from their actions and clothes. "Prime Minister Modi had said that he can tell if a person is Muslim or Hindu by their clothes. Kailash Vijayvargiya is one step ahead of him. He can identify a person's citizenship by watching the way they eat Poha," he said. 

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Digvijay Singh visits Shaheen Bagh

Digvijaya Singh, who visited Shaheen Bagh area a few days back, said that CAA, NRC, and NPR are against the Constitution of India as "no one has the right to ask for proof of citizenship from people who chose to live in the country". The Congress leader visited the Shaheen Bagh area in Delhi where people are protesting against the CAA, NRC, and the NPR for over a month. "We are against CAA, NRC, NPR. These are against the Constitution. We are against the Centre's divisive policy. No one has the right to ask for proof of citizenship from people who chose to live here," he said.

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(With ANI inputs)