Chandigarh: BJP’s ally in Punjab the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Monday asked inclusion of Muslims in the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. “India is a secular country and exclusion of Muslims is not justified,” said party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal.
Mr. Badal was on Saturday unanimously re-elected as the president of the Shiromani Akali Dal for another five years, the third time in a row. He addressed a gathering the next day. “When the Parkash Singh Badal government was here, people of all the religions had a sense of security. He had set an example for the rest of the nation. Thousands of our Sikh brothers, sisters were persecuted in Pakistan, Afghanistan…,” he said.
“In the last 20-25 years, SAD has been fighting for their citizenship… SAD also wants Muslims to be included in the Citizenship Act… We have always talked about the welfare of people of all the religions, not just of the Sikhs,” he added.
“Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians who were subject to persecution and atrocities in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan were forced to migrate to India decades back were not able to get any facilities due to the lack of the citizenship. The Union government by passing this bill has given a new lease of life to these people but the second aspect is that Muslims have not been included,” said Daljit Singh Cheema, General Secretary and spokesperson of Akali Dal.
“The stand of our party is very clear — Muslims should also be given the benefit as our country and its constitution is secular. It clearly says that injustice should not be done on the basis of religion. The Union government should also include Muslims,” Cheema added.