Backing the Citizenship Amendment Act, BJP leader Ram Madhav today said that even Austria had amended its law to grant citizenship to Jews and asserted that people coming to India for genuine reasons can seek to become its nationals.
The stand that persecuted religious minorities fleeing Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh should be accommodated and provided citizenship has been echoed by leaders, including Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Pranab Mukherjee, he said.
"Austria amended its law to grant citizenship to the children, and grandchildren and of Jews," the BJP leader said at a meeting in Chennai.
Asserting that the Citizenship Amendment Act only fast-tracked grant of citizenship to minorities from neighbouring countries, he said the protests against it were not happening for "valid reasons and they are misinformed."
"I appeal to our Muslim brethren to not fall prey to false propaganda. The CAA does not apply to any Indian citizen, but only to those coming from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh," he said.
Mr Madhav added that people coming to India for "genuine reasons" from anywhere can seek citizenship.
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