Amid aggressive protests against the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill witnessed across India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 15 accused the Congress and its allies of fuelling violence and said that those indulging in arson "can be identified by their clothes".
"The Congress and its allies are stoking fire over the Citizenship Act, but people of northeast have rejected violence," he said during an election rally in Jharkhand.
"The country is watching; people's faith has been cemented in Modi after the Bill was cleared by Parliament. Their (Opposition) actions reflect that the decision to pass Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Parliament is 1,000 per cent correct," the prime minister said.
Protests have been raging against the law in the Northeast and West Bengal, where several railway stations, trains and buses were set afire by mobs over the last two days.
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"People who are setting fire (to property) can be seen on TV... They can be identified by the clothes they are wearing," he said without elaborating.
Condemning the overseas protests held by Congress, he said, "For the first time, the Congress did what Pakistanis has been doing for long."
A large number of people had gathered outside the Indian High Commission in London on Saturday to protest the amended Act and what they branded as Modi government's "failures".
"You will be surprised at the events that had unfolded near the Indian High Commission in London after the verdict was announced on Ram Janmabhoomi and the abrogation of Article 370. People from Pakistan, those settled in London, had staged demonstrations outside our embassy," he said.
"Did any Indian stage demonstration near the Embassy? If there is any issue, a person goes to the Embassy, meets the officials, who then send the documents to the central government," Modi explained.
Efforts were being made to tarnish the country's image, he alleged.
Protests have been raging across the entire northeast region, West Bengal, parts of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh over the amended Citizenship Act, as people fear that it might exacerbate the problem of illegal immigration.
Listing the achievements of the BJP governments at the Centre and Jharkhand, the prime minister said, "I am your sevak (servant). I have come here to give an account of the development work done by our party in the state."
He claimed that leaders of the opposition parties have only built palaces for themselves without paying any attention to the problems faced by common people.
The Congress and the JMM have no roadmap or agenda for developing Jharkhand, Modi insisted.
Referring to the sacrifice made by tribal freedom fighters for the country, he sought to know whether the British would have left India, had Birsa Munda, Sido-Kano, Chand- Bhairav and Phulo-Jano cared about personal gains.
"These great tribal martyrs rose above their personal interest to serve the society and the country," Modi said, adding that the BJP has derived its culture from them.
He thanked Vice President Venkaiah Naidu for encouraging MPs to use local languages, including Santhali, in Parliament, while also ensuring their English and Hindi translations were available on headphones.
"Santhal Pargana has a rich language and culture. The government will promote spiritual tourism in the Santhal Pargana, where many temples of Lord Shiva and other temples are situated. I thank vice president Venkaiah Naidu ji for arranging translation of Santhali language in the Rajya Sabha," Modi added.
With inputs from PTI
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