The persons who are doing so are dogs of Mamata Banerjee, BJP MP Soumitra Khan said
BJP MP Soumitra Khan on Sunday made derogatory comments against prominent personalities opposing the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act or CAA and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens or NRC by calling them "dogs" of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, news agency PTI reported.
Soumitra Khan, who joined the BJP after quitting Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress before the general elections last year, told reporters that despite knowing the facts about the CAA and the NRC, the eminent persons are continuing with their protests.
"The persons who are doing so are dogs of Mamata Banerjee," Mr Khan, who represents Bishnupur seat in the Lok Sabha, said, adding the same people however remained silent on the gang-rape cases at Kamduni and Park Street in Kolkata.
Film personalities and musicians in Bengal have participated in rallies to protest against the NRC and the new citizenship law that for the first time makes religion a test for citizenship. Mamata Banerjee is one of the strongest critics of the Citizenship Amendment Act, NRC and National Population Register (NPR) and has been holding regular protest meetings against the centre's new citizenship law.
Soumitra Khan's comments come just a day after Dilip Ghosh, who was put in charge for another term as BJP Bengal chief, on Friday continued his tirade against the protesters carrying out rallies against the citizenship law, describing them as "creatures", "devils" and "parasites".
"Some creatures called intellectuals have come out on the streets of Kolkata. These parasitic intellectuals, who live and enjoy out of other's pockets, where were they when our predecessors were tortured in Bangladesh," Mr Ghosh had said.
The Citizenship Amendment Act has triggered massive protests across India. The central government says the law will help minorities from three Muslim-dominated countries get citizenship if they fled to India because of religious persecution before 2015. Critics say it is designed to discriminate against Muslims and violates the secular principles of the constitution.
With inputs from PTI