PONDA: While there have been widespread protests across India demanding repealing of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a large group of citizens and a number of Hindu organisations held a rally on Tuesday at Kranti Maidan in Ponda in support of the law.
The participants at the rally shouted slogans in support of CAA. And speakers at the rally claimed that the law is “not against Muslims residing in India and that Muslims would not lose their citizenship under the law.”
The speakers said that persecuted minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who have come to India as refugees would get citizenship in India while infiltrators would be send back to their home countries.
“There is an agreement between Pakistan and Indian to protect the religious minorities in their respective countries; while India honoured that promise, Pakistan is persecuting all the religious minorities, including the Hindus,” a speaker said.
Participants at the rally carried placards showing how the Hindu population in Pakistan has declined due to religious persecution and atrocities. One placard read that in 1951 the Hindu population in Pakistan was 14.2 percent of the total population which declined to 3.5 percent in 1998.
Similarly, in 1951 Hindu population in Bangladesh was 23.2 percent which declined to 10.4 percent in 2001.
The speakers said that some politicians are politicising the issue and creating fear among Muslims over CAA. “The Act will not harm Indian Muslims,” a speaker said.
Adv Hridaynath Shirodkar said that the CAA is not against the Muslims but to give citizenship to the persecuted minorities who have fled to India from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Adv Garde said after this, the government should go for common civil code for country which is prevailing in Goa.
Participant Shantaram Colvekar said some protestors had unnecessarily damaged government property.
Another participant Sunil Desai said Congress created the mess by not solving the problem of refugees and persecuted minorities who have come to India from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
He appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for resolving the “70-year old problem” faced by the refugees and persecuted minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
