Centre ready to talk with Shaheen Bagh protesters but in structured manner: Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad at India Ka DNA event

Ahead of the Delhi Assembly Election 2020, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday asserted that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is not against any Indian and it is not meant to take away the citizenship of anybody. Speaking with Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary in Zee News Conclave 'DNA of India', Prasad clarified that the Centre is ready to talk with the protesters of Shaheen Bagh but in a structured manner.

"Those at Shaheen Bagh are raising 'Azaadi' slogans. I want to ask whom they want 'Azaadi' from? The anti-CAA protest at Shaheen Bagh is not spontaneous. It is being funded by political parties. The rights of 200-300 anti-CAA protesters are not bigger than the rights of lakhs of Delhiites who are facing trouble due to blockade of road. We will not allow 'tukde-tukde gang' to break this country again," said the Union Law minister.

He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said in Lok Sabha that this country belongs to every Indian irrespective of religion. The Union Minister also added that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has given Padma Shree to a Muslim, Karimul Haque who works in a tea garden of West Bengal.

The Law Minister challenged anyone to highlight a section of the CAA that proves that it will lead to the loss of citizenship of an Indian. "Those who talk about democratic values, I want to ask the question, where were those people when the women journalists of Zee News were forced to suffer indecent behaviour? If what happened to the Zee News journalists at Jamia and JNU, had a BJP worker done something of that sort, then a ruckus would be created," said Prasad.

The Union Law Minister also reiterated that the National Population Register (NPR) was launched during the tenure of former prime minister Manmohan Singh government and the Centre is "just taking the process forward".

"Anti-CAA protesters and Leftists speak about Constitution and carry Indian flag but are working at the behest of those who want to break our country, we will not let this happen," he added.

Showing a copy of the Indian Constitution, Prasad said, "Our Constitution has photos of Lord Ram, Hanuman, Nataraj, and several other Hindu gods."

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal failed to work for the development of the city even after winning 67 seats, said Prasad. "Delhi gave a massive mandate to the Aam Aadmi Party and Kejriwal in 2015 but he has only abused Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders in the last five years, he even fought with his own officers," he added.

Speaking on the Nirbhaya case, he said, "Supreme Court must take notice that Nirbhaya case convicts are misusing the law to delay their hangings. Our judicial system needs to introspect in Nirbhaya case as the legal system is being abused and the Supreme Court must take notice, I am saying this as the Law Minister."