Oppn resolution against CAA must have gladdened Pak's heart: BJP

The BJP slammed the Opposition over its stand against the CAA on Monday, saying its resolution must have gladdened the heart of Pakistan as it chose to target the Modi government, even though the amended citizenship law was a "true national occasion" to expose Islamabad's barbaric treatment of its minorities.

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also took a swipe at Monday's Opposition meet over the absence of major parties such as the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), saying the lack of unity in its ranks stood exposed.

"The resolution must have gladdened the heart of Pakistan. The CAA was a true national occasion to expose Pakistan's duplicity and barbaric treatment of its minorities. It is a known fact that minorities, be it Hindus, Christians or Sikhs, were subjected to the most atrocious and barbaric treatment by Pakistan and also, in many cases, by Bangladesh," Prasad told reporters.

Instead of exposing Pakistan, the Opposition had unnecessarily targeted the Modi government, he said.

Opposition parties, led by the Congress, adopted a resolution on Monday, demanding that the amended citizenship law be withdrawn and the process of NPR immediately stopped.

The 20-party meet also asserted that it was all part of an "unconstitutional package" that targeted poor people, SC/STs and minorities.

Taking on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his dare to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit universities without security and talk about the state of economy, Prasad wondered if he was issuing "threats" and inciting people to commit violence.

For long, Gandhi challenged Modi to a debate on the Rafale fighter jets issue but ended up losing in court as well as in elections, he said.

The law minister accused the Congress of siding with "urban Maoists, Naxalites and rank separatists" as he claimed that the grand old party could go to any extent to oppose Modi.

The resolution adopted by the opposition parties was neither in national interest nor in the interest of security or peace and amity in the society, he said, adding that it was also not in the interest of those minorities who fled neighbouring countries after facing persecution.

Most of these minorities were poor Dalits who fled persecution and also to save the honour of their women, Prasad said, asking Congress president Sonia Gandhi to make her party's stand clear on their condition.

Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi must say whether most of these people were poor or not, he said.

Accusing the Congress of adopting double standards and hypocrisy, the minister said its senior leaders like Manmohan Singh and Ashok Gehlot had in the past called for giving citizenship to the persecuted minorities of neighbouring countries.

The Congress-led UPA government had started the National Population Register (NPR) in 2010 and called it a subset of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), he said.

Alleging a Congress hand in the violence during the anti-CAA protests in the country, Prasad wondered why no such incident was reported from the states ruled by the opposition party.

Responding to the Opposition's attack on the government over the economic slowdown, he said there was some stress due to global factors, but asserted that India continued to enjoy the trust of investors and its fundamentals remained strong.

The Modi government was initiating a host of measures to strengthen the economy, Prasad said.