BJP trying to establish racial democracy through Citizenship (Amendment) Bill: CPI-M's Md. Salim

As Shah in Lok Sabha on Monday said the citizenship bill will grant citizenship to non-Muslim refugees who came to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on or before Dec 31, 2014, Salim said the BJP government is completely violating Article 14- which states all are equal before law- which is the "spirit of the Indian Constitution".

Accusing the Centre of trying to create a "fear psychosis", Salim referred to National Register of Citizens (NRC), CAB and National Population Register (NPR) in one bracket.

"NRC, CAB and NPR are not different. They are interlinked," the CPI-M leader said.

"The BJP government is trying to give membership to citizens. The threat to throw out two crore refugees (from West Bengal) is nothing but a political rhetoric. They won't and can't throw out anyone," the former Lok Sabha MP said.

Though the Home Minister in a strong statement in Lok Sabha said the CAB is needed because of the Congress' "divisive politics" in 1947, Salim accused the BJP of dividing people on the basis of "law".

"After dividing people through religion and politics, the BJP is now trying to do the same thing with the help of law," Salim said.

Taking a swipe at the BJP's idea of unity of nation, the Communist leader said the CAB has exposed BJP's "hollow rhetoric". "They speak about one nation, one language. Now the CAB shows how hollow their rhetoric is."

Though his political foe from West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC), was vocal against the bill thorough its MPs Saugata Roy and Abhishek Banerjee, Salim still believes in a mutual understanding between the ruling parties of the state and Centre.

"The TMC MPs are also not aware what to do in Parliament. They will act as per the directions that come from their chief Mamata Banerjee or her political strategist Prashant Kishore or Amit Shah considering the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforement Directorate (ED) actions against the TMC leaders," Salim said.

TMC Lok Sabha MP and Mamata's nephew Abhishek Banerjee said in Parliament on Monday, " We won't allow NRC in Bengal. It will never happen," while Mamata avoided discussing NRC while meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah just weeks ago.