BJP launches drive to identify refugees in Lok Sabha constituencies

The BJP is starting a drive of nearly a fortnight from Tuesday in many parliamentary constituencies to find refugees from neighbouring countries and help them obtain citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019.

How the drive will work

Every BJP member of the Lok Sabha has been asked to locate refugees in their constituency, many of whom live in clusters or slums, and to reach out to them. MPs will cover the 303 seats the party holds, while in many of the other constituencies the job will fall to MLAs, office-bearers and other party leaders. The campaign, which ends on December 31, will also explain the new law and counter the opposition parties protesting against it. BJP national secretary Satya Kumar is coordinating the exercise.

Kumar said refugees had been living for years in various parts of the country. He estimated that there were roughly 16000 refugees in East Delhi, the constituency of Gautam Gambhir, and about 24,000 in Karnataka’s Koppal seat. Some refugees from Pakistan and Bangladesh still live in camps, he said.

A white paper

The party has also prepared a white paper on the Act, focusing on West Bengal and Assam and on the positions taken by different parties over the years on citizenship for people from neighbouring countries, especially Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is being translated into regional languages for wide distribution. It includes a chapter on the 1950 pact between Jawaharlal Nehru and Liaquat Ali and how, in the party’s account, Pakistan failed to protect the rights of its minorities under it.

The drive comes as protests against the law at Jamia Millia Islamia, Aligarh Muslim University and Nadwa University in Lucknow have turned violent.

Background

The BJP won 303 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general election, and Narendra Modi was sworn in for a second term on 30 May 2019.

See also: Lok Sabha members and BJP

Originally published on 17 December 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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