'If not India, where will Hindus go?' Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on CAA protests

Amid protests over the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on Wednesday said Hindus facing religious persecution in Pakistan and Bangladesh will naturally "come to India" and not go to "Italy". 

Protests have been raging across the country against the new citizenship law and a proposed NRC with Uttar Pradesh being most affected where 19 people have been killed. The new law promises citizenship to "illegal immigrants" belonging to minority communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who fled religious persecution in the three countries. 

"Why are you protesting? Against whom you are protesting? If Hindus from Pakistan and Bangladesh will not come to India then where else they will go, Italy? If Hindus will not come to India, where will they go? Italy thodi lenge unko. It's India's responsibility to provide citizenship and protection to minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan," Minister of State (MoS) for Home Reddy said in Varanasi on Wednesday.

Critics say that the new law is against the secular nature of the Indian Constitution and clubbed with the NRC may be misused to strip away some Muslims' citizenship in the country. The BJP, however, has argued that the law has nothing to do with India's Muslims and only helps those who fled religious persecution in the neighbouring countries.

"It's our responsibility to give shelter to them and to give them citizenship," Reddy said.

Reddy said there is nothing against Indian Muslims in the new law. "There is nothing against Indian Muslim or other communities in the Act. The Act is not against any religion or citizen," he said.

He further said, "You have full right to protest under democracy but I would like to ask why are you protesting? Against whom the Act is?"

"Even if you are doing mindless protest you have the right to do so but you don`t have the right to destroy public property and set buses and other public property on fire. You don`t have the right to pelt stone," the Union minister said.