Maintaining a cautious stance on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) so far, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has finally broken his silence over the contentious Act. In an interview, Kejriwal said the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre was bringing CAA so as to divide people as it was unable to solve the problem of unemployment and economic slowdown.
Kejriwal’s remark comes a fortnight ahead of February 8 Delhi Assembly elections. The CAA has caused widespread protests across the country, including Delhi, where an all-women’s sit-in at Shaheen Bagh has caught the imagination of the people.
The protest at Shaheen Bagh is running for over 40 days and has caused long traffic snarls affecting lakhs of daily commuters.
On being asked about his views on the Shaheen Bagh protest, Kejriwal said even though protesting is everyone’s right, it should not be at the expense of causing inconvenience to others, The Times of India has reported.
When asked why the chief minister hasn’t visited the sit-in, Kejriwal said if a visit by him could end the stir, he would have ended it in five minutes.
Accusing the Modi government of using CAA as a diversionary tactic, Kejriwal was quoted by the newspaper as saying, “It is beyond my understanding that when the country is going through such a bad phase of economic slowdown, what was the need to bring CAA? If CAA and NRC are removed, people will return to their homes.”
“This has been done to divert attention from the issue of unemployment…the uproar has been created because they do not have the guts to talk about jobs and the economy,” he added.
Furthering his poll plank, Kejriwal said better education, health facilities, infrastructure, electricity, water and “not CAA or NRC”, will take this country forward.
Meanwhile, Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, on January 23, also told CNN News18 that he “stands with the people of Shaheen Bagh”.
Although AAP had voted against the Citizenship Amendment Bill in Parliament, its leaders haven’t visited any of the protest sites, including Shaheen Bagh. BJP Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari, however, continues to accuse AAP and Congress for fomenting tension on the ground.
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