Congress MP Mr Adhir Chowdhury today said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to accomplish the dreams of Mohammed Ali Jinnah and that’s why he is aiming to deport the entire population of Indian Muslims to Pakistan or Bangladesh through CAA and NRC.

He was addressing a ‘No CAA, No NRC’ meeting organised by his party in front of Burdwan town’s iconic Curzon Gate. “Indian Muslims had refused to respond to Jinnah’s vehement provocations for their bulk migration to Pakistan; rather our Muslims insisted that India alone was their country.

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Now, Modi is purposefully seeking to shift the same patriotic Muslims either to Bangladesh or Pakistan using the CAA legislation. Now, may I ask whether the Muslims who preferred to stay on in India were wrong. Jinnah had termed it as their great mistake. Or are the attempts made by Amit Shah and Modi today wrong?

People have to make for the right choice immediately at this critical juncture as extending support to NRC is equivalent to supporting Jinnah’s partition of India,” said Mr Chowdhury. Mr Chowdhury further said that the Muslims had also participated in India’s Freedom Movement.

He said: “During the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, as many as 29,000 Muslim soldiers were butchered and 35,000 Muslim clerics were killed by the British. Even today, we recall the name of martyr Ashfaqullah Khan with the same dignity and honour that we offer to Sheheed Kshudiram or Sheheed Bhagat Singh.”

He added: “In the name of CAA and NRC, Modi’s government is trying to divide the country further and is trying to instigate a complete disruption of communal harmony in our country.” Mr Chowdhury also mocked state chief minister Miss Mamata Banerjee saying: “She was looking for a way to sit with Narendra Modi and this anti-CAA movement paved her way. She’s playing a dubious role.”

Asked about the participation of Congress-governed states at the NPR meeting in New Delhi convened by the Union home ministry, Mr Chowdhury explained: “Congress representatives didn’t take part from those states. Senior officials from the Congress- governed states joined the meeting convened by the Census Commission to register valid protests and explain logically why we oppose NPR.”