UP BJP to set up registration camps for refugees

Lucknow: The BJP in Uttar Pradesh will launch a registration campaign for refugees seeking Indian citizenship from Thursday.

The party will also launch a month-long campaign from the same day to dispel misinformation being spread about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

UP BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh said that the opposition has been spreading canards about the citizenship law and these 'elements' had fuelled the recent violence in the state on the issue.

"Our campaign will be held from December 26 to January 25 across the state to apprise people of the facts of CAA. Party workers will reach out to people in the rural interiors and clear misconceptions if any," he said.

Singh said that CAA was essentially for persecuted minorities in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. "We will also register refugees who are awaiting Indian citizenship," he said and added that the party will also reach out to Muslims and assure them that they will not be affected by the CAA.

The BJP has already asked its MPs to identify and approach refugees from neighbouring countries living there and help them get citizenship under the new Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019.

While 62 seats in Uttar Pradesh would be covered by its members of Parliament, for many of the remaining seats, party office-bearers, MLAs and other leaders will be pressed into service.

The idea is to deflate the campaign starred by the opposition parties on CAA which has led to students' protests across the country.

Sources said that the BJP has also prepared a White Paper on Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 - with a special stress on West Bengal and Assam and the stand taken by various political parties over the years.

This will be distributed widely and is being translated into regional languages to help convey the message more effectively.

It has a chapter on the Jawaharlal Nehru-Liaquat Ali pact signed in 1950 and how Pakistan flouted this deal by not protecting the rights of minorities living there.

Meanwhile, after the protests in Jamia Millia Islamia, Aligarh Muslim University and Nadwa University in Lucknow turned violent, the issue has given the BJP an opportunity to polarise people the issue.