Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale questioned the "authority" of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is known as the ideological parent of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), for allegedly issuing CAA eligibility certificates in the state of Rajasthan.
In a post on X, Gokhale wrote, "Now under the CAA, the RSS & Sangh Parivar get to decide if someone is Hindu or "eligible to be a citizen of India".
Gokhale's tweet comes after news reports claimed that RSS-affiliated groups are issuing CAA eligibility certificates to Pakistani Hindus.
Expressing his concern over new revelations, he wrote, "Earlier, the Modi Govt said that a certificate from a local priest/pujari can be used as proof of religion. And now, in Rajasthan, the RSS is allegedly issuing 'eligibility certificates' to people wanting to apply for Indian citizenship."
Questioning the authority of RSS, Gokhale wrote, "On what grounds has the RSS become an 'authority' to decide whether someone is a Hindu or whether someone is 'eligible' to be a citizen of India?"
Hitting out at the Modi government, TMC MP wrote, "Don't be surprised if the Modi Govt suddenly decides to make RSS the sole authority for giving eligibility certificates to people."
Calling the practice of religious bodies certifying eligibility for citizenship "dangerous," Gokhale wrote, "It doesn't matter whether you're a Hindu. This new trend clearly shows that the RSS will slowly become the 'authorized organization' to decide whether someone is a Hindu or 'eligible to be an Indian Citizen'. This is DANGEROUS considering the 'chronology' declared by Amit Shah in 2019 where he said that CAA will be followed by an NRC."
According to a report by The Hindu, a group affiliated with the RSS has been arranging camps and providing "eligibility certificates" to members of the Hindu community from Pakistan, assisting them in their applications for citizenship under the CAA Act.
The group, Seemajan Kalyan Samiti, which operates in the areas along the Pakistan border in Rajasthan, has helped hundreds of migrants from Pakistan to upload their documents on the citizenship portal launched by the Home Ministry, according to The Hindu report.
