Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel on Sunday said that people who are spreading rumours against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) are 'conspirators' and people who have read CAA properly then they cannot find any fault in it nor they can disagree with it.
Patel also expressed regret over opposition parties and various organisations opposing CAA across the country.
"No confusion was left after what the Prime Minister had said regarding CAA. The people who are spreading these rumours are definitely conspirators. The truth is that if someone has read CAA properly, then they cannot find fault in it nor can disagree with it," Patel told ANI.
"The country got independence in August 1947, in July, Mahatma Gandhi had said that if any religiously persecuted person comes from there, he should be given citizenship, his health should be taken care of and his living should also be arranged. I think the ongoing debates are conducted to spread rumours," he added.
Speaking about the recent violence that took place in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on January 5 and the ongoing protests, the Union Minister said that the law should do its job but there is a need for 'peace' in the educational institutions.
"One should protest to keep their point but taking law in hands and damaging the property is not right and if the administration or government is taking legal actions then I think it is right to do so. The law should do its job but it is true that there is a need for peace in our education institute," Patel told ANI.
Patel further alleged that some people are conspiring and some innocent students get misled by them.
"There is a class of students who is very innocent. There will be some people might be conspirators. It would not be right to call all of them conspirators. That is why I think one should also see the difference between who is really a conspirator and who are innocent. Some people might be innocent, who are emotionally involved with people. Therefore, the process of dialogue should continue with the government and the institutions. But, action should be taken against those who are conspiring,' said Patel.
"I think there should be a dialogue, there should be a debate as to what exactly is the way to protest. And if there is an institutional trust that will hurt Indian democracy then the problems will increase. If someone runs away from dialogue then the law will do its job," he added.
Patel, while targeting the Left Front parties, alleged that the leftist ideology has always been against democracy.
"We have been openly opposing the Left or Left Wing Extremism and we believe that they are always a threat to democracy. That is why the left-wing extremism entered as urban Naxalism. If the Left is behind that violence, I will call it Left Wing Extremism," said Patel.
On January 5, more than 30 students of the university, including JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, were injured and taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre after a masked mob entered the varsity and attacked them and professors with sticks and rods.
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