The army chief himself, General Bipin Rawat has come out in the open and hit out at leaders who are misleading the masses, in the name of anti-CAA protests.
Bengaluru: The protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) continue across the country, with arson, vandalism and hooliganism defining them.
In the garb of protests, it is the public property that is being smashed, causing losses to the tune of lakhs.
Now, no less a person than the army chief himself, General Bipin Rawat has come out in the open and hit out at leaders who are misleading the masses.
He said, "Leaders are not those who lead people in an inappropriate direction. As we are witnessing in a large number of universities and colleges, students the way they are leading masses & crowds to carry out arson & violence in cities and towns. This is not leadership.”
Rawat also reminded people about the brave sacrifices our soldiers do.
He said, "On a day when we are attired in Delhi to protect ourselves from cold, I wish to pay reverence to my soldiers who stand steadfast manning Saltoro ridge in Siachen & others manning high altitude positions where the temperature ranges between -10 to -45 degrees."
The CAA, passed in both houses of the Indian Parliament, gives citizenship to religiously persecuted minorities (non-Muslims) in countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Though the opposition alleges that such a law is based on discrimination, the government has dismissed it saying, persecuted Muslims in these countries aren’t persecuted on religious grounds because Islam is the state religion here.
As many as 60 petitioners have knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court, asking it to intervene and scrap the law. While the top court will start hearing the case January 22 onwards, the melee over the issue continues on the streets.
The government is also mulling the introduction of the NRC which many again say is a ploy to divide the nation, but the PM has categorically emphasised that the draft over the NRC has not been finalised.
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