Only those who will say 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' will stay: Dharmendra Pradhan

Addressing a function of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad in Pune, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan slammed those opposing the National Register of Citizens and asked whether they wanted the country to become a "Dharam Shala" (an open house). He also said that only those who will say "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" will stay in the country.

Pune (Maharashtra):Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said here on Saturday that only those who will say "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" will stay in India. He was addressing the 54th state conference of the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), an RSS-affiliated student union.

Pradhan lashed out at those opposing the National Register of Citizens (NRC), asking whether they wanted the country to become a "Dharamshala" (an open house).

"Whether the sacrifice given by Bhagat Singh and Subhas Chandra Bose will go waste? People have fought for freedom not because we have to count after 70 years who all are citizens. Whether we will make this country a Dharamshala?" asked Pradhan.

"Are we going to make our country a Dharam Shala now where anyone can roam freely?" he asked.

"Therefore, we need to accept this challenge and we should make sure that only those who are ready to say Bharat Mata Ki Jai can live here," the BJP leader said.

On the other hand on its 134th foundation day, the Congress party on Saturday protested against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The CAA grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.