India Will Always Stand By Its Own People: PM Modi Says On Afghanistan Crisis

Despite several challenges, India is evacuating its people from war-torn Afghanistan and will continue to do so, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday as he unveiled renovated Jallianwala Bagh memorial through video conferencing.

“If any Indian is in crisis anywhere in India, the country stands with all its might. Be it the challenges of Corona or the Afghanistan crisis. Operation Devi Shakti brought back several people from Afghanistan. There are many challenges and the situation is difficult,” PM Modi said.

“India has also made a new law for its own people. The present global situation shows us the importance of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat. It reminds us why it’s time for India to be self-reliant after 75 years of Independence,” PM Modi said, without taking the name of the Citizenship Amendment Act.

The controversial law has again come into discourse as BJP leaders and union ministers referred to the usefulness of the law to give citizenship to Sikhs and Hindus fleeing Afghanistan. The law, rules of which are yet to be notified, aims to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who arrived in India before the end of December 2014.

Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal recently urged for a review of the CAA saying that India should not only rescue Sikhs and Hindus from Afghanistan.

Separate from this law, India is offering the provision of e-visa which will allow Afghan Hindus and Sikhs to apply for a six-month visa in India.

As PM Modi inaugurated the renovated complex of Jallianwala Bagh Smarak along with the museum galleries developed at the Smarak on Saturday, he said no country should forget their history.

“Those 10 minutes of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre was a turning point in our freedom movement. For that, we are here today and celebrating Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav. I am fortunate to have visited the holy soil of Jallianwalabagh several times,” PM Modi said.

According to the PMO statement, four Museum galleries have been created through adaptive reuse of redundant and underutilised buildings, which showcase the historical value of events that unfolded in Punjab during that period. A Sound & Light show has been set up to display the events that happened on April 13, 1919.