The Assam BJP on Monday accused the Congress of doublespeak on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.

State BJP spokesperson Rupam Goswami said though the state Congress was now opposing the bill, on December 18, 2003, former Prime Minister and Congress MP Manmohan Singh, who was then leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, had spoken in the Upper House in favour of giving citizenship to Hindus from Bangladesh who had taken refuge in India because of persecution.

Goswami gave a copy of Rajya Sabha proceedings of December 18, 2003.

The document quotes Singh as saying in the Rajya Sabha: “After the partition of our country, minorities in countries like Bangladesh have faced persecution, and it is our moral obligation that if circumstances force people, these unfortunate people, to seek refuge in our country, our approach to granting citizenship to these unfortunate persons should be more liberal.”

“I sincerely hope that the deputy Prime Minister (L.K. Advani) will bear this in mind in charting out the future course of action with regard to the Citizenship Act,” Singh had said.

The copy of the Rajya Sabha proceedings of December 18, 2003, mentions that another Congress MP, Shankar Roy Chowdhury, had said in the Upper House that a large number of illegal migrants were religious minorities facing persecution.

“I earnestly urge the government that minorities fleeing Bangladesh for the fear of persecution should be given citizenship and should be treated in a supportive and kind manner,” Chowdhury had said.

But now, the BJP said, the state Congress was opposing the bill and had even supported the Assam bandh called by several organisations on October 23 against the bill.

The Narendra Modi government had introduced the bill, which seeks to grant citizenship to persecuted Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis, Christians and Buddhists who came to India from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh before December 31, 2014, in the Lok Sabha in 2016.

The bill is currently being examined by a joint parliamentary committee.

“The Congress is spreading misinformation on the bill solely for making political gains. The Congress and communists, who had opposed Assam Agitation, are playing politics over the bill,” Goswami alleged.

He warned the Congress not to play divisive politics and dared the Congress leaders to come for a debate on the issue.

There is stiff opposition to the bill in Assam as indigenous communities fear that it will reduce them to a minority in the state.