The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Congress hit out at the BJP on Monday citing the widespread protests against the amended Citizenship Act and said people have understood the ‘falsehood and diversionary tactics’ of the saffron party which is loosing state elections one after the other. It termed the BJP’s charge that the Congress was instigating protesters on the issue of CAA “totally false and politically motivated” and said the party always stood for respecting the foundational values of the Constitution. “Before questioning the Congress, the BJP should explain the reservations shown by their own allies about the CAA… Why its own important allies like JD(U) and Akali Dal are not supporting them now,” Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma told reporters at the party headquarters here. Sharma, who joined party leaders and workers to celebrate the victory of the Congress coalition in the Jharkhand Assembly elections, said his party earlier amended the Citizenship Act nine times to grant citizenship to deserving people but the present amendment was against the basic spirit of our Constitution and hence, was facing opposition. “Always citizenship was granted to the deserving people in the past as per law and there was neither any opposition from any quarter nor any one opposed the grant of citizenship to the genuine people. As per its (BJP’s) own statement in Parliament, 2,305 persons from neighbouring countries were granted citizenship during 2016 to 2019,” the Congress leader said. Jubilant Congress workers distributed sweets and burst crackers to celebrate the Jharkhand results. “The people of the country have been realising the falsehood and diversionary tactics of BJP, as a result of which the party is losing state after state where elections are being held after the Lok Sabha elections. “The failure of the BJP to fulfil its promises and its attempts to divert the attention of the people from real issues have failed to hoodwink the people,” Sharma said. He alleged that the BJP was misleading the people on various issues to malign the Congress but “people now see through the divisive and diversionary agenda of the BJP government and was giving a reply to the ruling party through ballot”. Sharma said the BJP has tried to use the issues of abrogation of special status for Jammu and Kashmir in Haryana and Maharashtra and now, CAA in Jharkhand for political gains, but suffered a great setback and lost the elections.
