CAA implementation ahead of LS polls dirty vote bank politics of BJP: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday, 13 March said the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act ahead of the Lok Sabha polls was a "dirty vote bank politics" of the BJP and asserted that people want this law to be repealed.

With this law, the BJP-led government at the Centre has opened the floodgates for the arrival of a large number of poor minorities from Pakistan and Bangladesh into India, he said at a press conference.

"There are 3.5 crore minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The BJP wants to spend the money of our people in settling poor migrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh by giving them houses and jobs here," charged Kejriwal, who is also the Aam Aadmi Party national convener.

He claimed that the BJP stands to gain in the coming elections as poor minorities from the neighbouring countries settling in India will become its vote bank. Implementation of the CAA ahead of the Lok Sabha polls was a "dirty vote bank politics" of the BJP, Kejriwal said.

The country demands scrapping of CAA, he said and asked people to vote against the BJP if the law is not repealed.

The Citizenship Amendment Act seeks to grant citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before 31 December, 2014.