Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday condemned the incident of attack and stone-pelting on Sikh devotees at the Gurdwara Nankana Sahib in Pakistan and stated that protests would be organised, if required, against Pakistan and other countries like Afghanistan and Bangladesh so as to ensure that the minorities residing there are not oppressed in the name of religion and their rights are protected.
Khattar was addressing a gathering after launching the Sampark Abhiyan in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Sector-10 at Panchkula today.
He said that the Parliament has recently passed CAA to provide citizenship of India to the minorities coming to India from neighbouring countries that are being oppressed there in the name of religion, however, few opposition parties were misguiding the people of the country by spreading false information without understanding the provisions of the Act.
Khattar exhorted the people to remain cautious and do not fall prey to these rumours and consider this Act as in the interest of humanity.
According to a press release, the Chief Minister explained that the act was not a new Act as it came into force in the year 1955 as per which minority communities like Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian who are oppressed in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh in the name of religion come to India to lead a respectable life.
He also said that during Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government in which Lal Krishna Advani was the Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh had himself said in the Lok Sabha that such people should be given citizenship as soon as possible. In Haryana, now decks have been cleared for giving them citizenship, he added.
Among those present on the occasion included Vidhan Sabha Speaker Gian Chand Gupta, Education Minister Kanwar Pal, Deputy Commissioner Mukesh Kumar Ahuja, Deputy Commissioner of Police Kamaldeep Goyal, District BJP President Deepak Sharma, former MLA from Kalka Latika Sharma and others.