Former Delhi lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung on Monday joined the agitation outside the Jamia Millia Islamia against the citizenship amendment, calling for changes to the law and calling the police assaults on students “shameful”.

Jung, a former Jamia vice-chancellor who became the lieutenant governor in 2013 and retained his post after the BJP came to power the next year, asked why “lakhs of people” refused to believe Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s disclaimer on detention centres.

“I have a small solution for you, if the government agrees. Either add the names of the religions that you have left out (of the amendment), or remove the mention of any religion and say we are a good country — (to the) oppressed who are in distress we give full rights,” he said.

“People of one specific religion have been excluded from it…. Why won’t they get nationality? Are they not Indians? Why have you left out our Tamils from Sri Lanka, Rohingyas from Burma? You have to reply. This agitation will not end until this is changed.”

He added: “The Prime Minister says that no detention centre is being made, there will be no NRC. That is good. But the question is, why don’t people believe him? It is shameful for us that lakhs of people in India do not believe this, because (such) centres are being made.”

He went on: “Centres have been made in Assam, Karnataka. There is talk of a centre being made near Navi Mumbai. I give you a solution: Prime minister, home minister, do an open press conference and say we are not going to bring in the NRC.”

He asked: “Today, when lakhs of people are revolting in the country, why aren’t they being called for talks? The government should meet my students, because the future is theirs. These children and the women in Shaheen Bagh have proven their strength.”

Jung slammed the police, who once reported to him.

“I’m shocked when I see what happened on the evening of December 15 (when the police entered the Jamia and Aligarh Muslim University campuses and attacked students). It’s not normal for 200-250 children to get injured, especially when 10-15 have got serious injuries, and many children have been left mentally scarred,” he said.

“What happened in Aligarh Muslim University is even more shameful….. A fortnight back, there was a rampage in JNU for four hours. Till today we don’t know who did that. This is shameful for any democracy and the capital of the country.”

He added: “Our children want to join the army, the police — not this police that does barbaric atrocities. We don’t want an NPR that asks where your father was born. I have Punjabi friends in Delhi whose fathers were born in Lahore or Rawalpindi.”