CAA, NRC will cause no harm to Indian Muslims: RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat in Assam

He emphasised that no Muslim will face any loss due to the citizenship law

The CAA-NRC will cause no harm to Indian Muslims and the two have been made a Hindu-Muslim issue by "a section" for political mileage only, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagawat said on Tuesday.

In his lecture after releasing a book on the debate on CAA-NRC, Bhagawat said, "The CAA and NRC have been passed not against the Constitution. This will cause no harm to the Muslim citizens of India. India has been maintaining the promise made in the Nehru-Liaquat pact that both countries would protect its minorities. Pakistan did not."

The statement is seen as a counter to the narratives by the anti-CAA protesters who call it communal as the CAA seeks to offer citizenship to non-Muslim migrants only from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The NRC 1951, on the other hand, was updated in Assam and over 19.06 lakh of the 3.29 crore applicants were left out.

The book, "The Citizenship Debate over NRC & CAA: Assam and the Politics of History" has been written by Nani Gopal Mahanta, a professor of Political Science at Gauhati University. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also spoke at the programme.

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Bhagawat, who is on a two-day visit to the Northeast said it was India's responsibility to take care of the minorities in Pakistan (Hindus), who suffered and became displaced due to atrocities after the Partition.

"India has always welcomed outsiders but the designs by some to impose their religion, culture and food habits resulted in a sense of fear among the locals, even in Assam," he said.

"Given the political situation, the CAA-NRC has been made a Hindu-Muslim issue by a section for political mileage only. It is not a Hindu-Muslim issue," Bhagwat said.

He said India did not need lessons from other countries on secularism and democracy as India has lived with this ethos for more than 4,000 years.

Talking about the NRC, Bhagawat said it was one of the means for the government to know who are its citizens. "All countries have means to know about their citizens, not about what they do, but who are they. NRC is one such means."

Talking about the anti-CAA protests, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the narrative over the issue in Assam and the rest of the country is different. "The anti-CAA protesters in Delhi or rest of the country were communal as they wanted Muslims to be given citizenship along with the Hindus. The same in Assam are against citizenship to both Hindus and Muslims under the CAA," he said.

"But we have a duty towards the persecuted people. That is why I will always remain a supporter of the CAA. But at the same time, we will take steps to ensure protection to Assamese identity and culture," he said.

Parts of Assam witnessed violent protests against the CAA in 2019 and the BJP-led government had taken stern measures to contain the protests. BJP and its allies, however, won the Assembly elections held in March-April.

The anti-CAA protesters say BJP wants to give citizenship to post-1971 Hindu migrants in order to build a vote bank.