G Kishan Reddy backs CAA, assures security to Muslim community

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

Since the implementation of CAA on December 12, protests have erupted in various parts of the country including the national capital.

"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?" said Reddy.

"Sikhs will not go to Italy. It's our responsibility to give shelter to them and to give them citizenship," he added.

While addressing a press conference, Reddy assured the community that there is nothing against them in the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

"There is nothing against Indian Muslim or other communities in the Act. The Act is not against any religion or citizen," said G Kishan Reddy.

Reddy further condemned the violent protests and said,  "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."

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Protests against CAA

The mood in the capital has been tense since buses and police vehicles were set ablaze in an outbreak of violence near Jamia Millia Islamia University two weeks ago. The police had claimed that the protesters torched DTC buses and a fire tender was damaged. However, the students claimed that the police baton-charged them when they were holding a peaceful protest.

In the early hours of Monday, 50 students were released by the police from the Kalkaji police station and the New Friends Colony police station. 

Several violent protests have been erupting across Assam, West Bengal, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh against the newly amended Citizenship Act, followed by the Jamia violence. Along with it, students across the country staged protests in solidarity. The anti-CAA movement has spread to more places like Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pondicherry, Patna and so on. 

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(With Inputs from ANI)