Khurshid accuses Modi government of trying to cover up lies on NPR, NRC

Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have put a question mark on the countrymen by bringing in Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Tuesday accused the BJP-led government of trying to "cover up its lies" on CAA, NPR and NRC and asked why it was feeling the need to give clarifications and reach out to people.

"There is an immediate spark for what is happening in the country at the moment, which has mobilised people and has made them take a stand. It is about one aspect of the Constitution. Now Amit Shah will decide who is a countryman and who is not or will PM Modi decide? By bringing in CAA, they have put a question mark on the countrymen," Khurshid told .

"The deteriorating economy is troubling the youth today. The government has made no policy for the farmers or to bring employment. In such a situation, an attack on the constitution will not be tolerated and people will come out in protest across the country," he added.

Khurshid said that the fact that the ruling party was going from door to door giving clarifications on National Population Register (NPR), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) means that "it is trying to cover up its lies".

"Why is the government finally feeling the need to give clarification on NRC, NPR and CAA. They are experts in tricking people. Today, they have to go from house to house and give information about this law. They are repeatedly saying we did not make a mistake," the Congress leader said.

"The game of Modi government has ended. People are now understanding the reality. Today the government is scared of the truth and hence the Modi government is trying to spread lies," he added.

The Congress leader said that NPR was brought by Congress in 2010 with a different objective and motive than that of the present dispensation.

"On NPR, the Home Minister says something and the Prime Minister says something else," he said.

On the kind of violence that took place in JNU on January 5, Salman Khurshid said that only a "jallad" (executioner) can act in this way. We condemn whoever has done this."

He raised question marks on the role of police and demanded that a fair investigation be done on the JNU violence case so that the guilty are brought to book.

"If the police filed genuine cases in this country, people would not have suffered so much. You know how many convictions are there in the country on the statement of the police. The police stood outside the gate and they did not know anything. We are therefore saying that there should be a fair investigation of the matter so that truth comes out in the JNU case," he said.

( With inputs from ANI )