Citizenship Amendment Bill: BJP reaching out to allies, says Ram Madhav

Guwahati (Assam) [India], Jan 17 (ANI): BJP general secretary Ram Madhav on Thursday said that the party is reaching out to allies who have expressed concerns over the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016 and will assure them that interest of each state will be taken care of.
"We're reaching out to alliance partners who have expressed concerns over the Bill, we'll reassure them that interest of each and every state will be taken care of. We're confident that those who have left (the party) will come back," said Madhav.
India has always given refuge to everyone in need, said Madhav adding that India's culture has been to help the people in need in neighbouring countries.
He further said that there is a lot of misinformation being thrown around, creating fear in people about the Bill.
However, he stated that people have supported BJP in its pursuit as it was clear from the Panchayat election results.
"The whole country is almost free of Maoist and Naxal terror. The activities of urban terror and urban Naxals are still going on, we are taking forward the legal procedure to curb that soon," the BJP General Secretary said.
Talking to ANI last week, Ram Madhav said the Asom Gana Parishad's (AGP) decision to quit the NDA was unfortunate and it should reconsider its decision as "there is no truth in their apprehensions" over the Bill.
"Unfortunate that AGP has decided to quit NDA. Their apprehensions are just apprehensions. There is no truth in them. We are committed to protecting the identity of the people of Assam. I appeal to the AGP to reconsider the decision," said Madhav.
"The Bill is not any state or region specific. It is for the entire country," he said.
Taking a dig at the opposition, Madhav said that the grand alliance (Mahagathbandhan) is going to be a non-starter as it has "fallen flat."
"The opposition used to talk about Mahagathbandhan or the grand alliance. There is utter chaos in the name of the grand alliance and it is going to be a non-starter," he said here at a press conference.
According to him, it is a ploy to trick people into believing that through a grand alliance they will ensure Prime Minister Modi's defeat.
"It is for people to decide whether they want a stable, development-focused and honest government or they want a corrupt, visionless government formed by a chaotic opposition," he added.
Talking about National Register of Citizen and Clause 6 of Assam Accord, Madhav stated that the successive governments in the state have ignored the need to implement these bills.
Hailing Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Madhav said: "Sonowal has championed NRC and Clause 6, and had moved the Supreme Court for the same. He has always worked for people's benefit and safety." (ANI)