Af-Pak refugees celebrate early Holi, thank govt for implementing CAA

Anshita Mehra

New Delhi, March 12

Refugees from Pakistan and Afghanistan residing in the Capital expressed their gratitude towards the government for enacting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). They celebrated an early Holi to mark the occasion.

55 students detained on DU campus

New Delhi: Around 55 students were detained on Tuesday as they gathered to protest against the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at the Delhi University Arts Faculty, the police said. Scores of students from the Left-affiliated AISA had called for a protest against the implementation of the CAA notified by the Centre on Monday. Delhi University AISA unit president Manik Gupta said the students were detained by the police even before the protest started. PTI

Will give everything to India

Once we were the wheels of Afghanistan’s economy, now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given us the opportunity to contribute legally to India’s economy. We will give everything to India. — Pyara Singh, Afghan refugee

Pyara Singh, a refugee from Afghanistan and currently residing in Tilak Nagar, said: “Once we were the wheels of Afghanistan’s economy, now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given us the opportunity to contribute legally to India’s economy. We will give everything to India.”

Govind Ram, a refugee from Pakistan who has been living in Majnu Ka Tila for several years, said: “We’ve been Indians at heart for the past four decades. Thanks to Modi, now we are legally Indians as well. Our children will also fulfil Modi’s dream of Viksit Bharat by getting educated and contributing to the country’s development.”

The celebrations unfolded at an event hosted at the BJP Delhi office, where Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva honoured Hindu refugees from Pakistan and Sikh and Hindu refugees from Afghanistan.

Sachdeva said: “When I first met these people, we hoped that one day PM Modi would fulfil all their demands because we had faith in our leadership and today we see the result of that faith.”

He said: “This is an emotional moment. When this law was passed in Parliament, it was decided that all the legal barriers that were coming in the way of refugees would be eliminated.” He added: “Modi has wiped away the tears of millions of people.” During the event, refugees expressed their gratitude by applying gulal on one another’s faces.