The Hindu : National : BJP criticises Manmohan's remarks on dual citizenship

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Sunday, Jan 09, 2005

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National

BJP criticises Manmohan's remarks on dual citizenship

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JAN. 8. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today accused the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, of politicising the dual citizenship issue.

"His claims of originality of the idea is to depart from facts," said the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Jaswant Singh.

Mr. Singh was reacting to the Prime Minister's statement at the third Pravasi Bharatiya Divas yesterday in which he regretted the fact that little progress had been made towards implementing the intent to grant dual citizenship.

"What the Prime Minister has said is hardly different from what the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government has already done. It is also not correct that the Prime Minister should use the forum to criticise the NDA Government," Mr. Singh said.

Briefing presspersons this afternoon, Mr. Singh reminded the Prime Minister that it was the Vajpayee-led NDA Government that had initiated the event called Pravasi Bharatiya Divas and that Parliament had passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2003 to confer the right of dual citizenship to Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) when the NDA was in power.

Mr. Jaswant Singh said that in 1994, Dr. Manmohan Singh while on a tour to the UK, had opposed the idea of granting dual citizenship.

"He was of the view that issuing an orange card would suffice. It is strange that he has changed his tune," Mr. Singh said.

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