BJP politician 'offers citizenship' to Pervez Musharraf

A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker on Thursday took a jibe at former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, offering him Indian citizenship under the highly controversial Citizenship Amendment Act recently passed by the Indian parliament.

“We can give Musharraf fast track citizenship since he is from Daryaganj and suffering persecution,” tweeted BJP MP Subramanian Swamy.

Daryaganj is a locality in New Delhi where the former military dictator was born.

In a statement that could be perceived as a slur, Swamy said all “self—acknowledged descendants of Hindus” can become Indian citizens under what he hinted could be a future iteration of the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Swamy is known for his derogatory remarks against Muslims and Pakistanis and his problematic beliefs regarding Hindu supremacy. In an article written in Indian publication DNA, the lawmaker had predicted that Pakistan will be taken over by Taliban by 2012. He had also said after the “takeover”, Islam would confront Hinduism to “complete unfinished business”.

Last year, in the wake of United States President Donald Trump’s attack on Pakistan for giving “safe haven to terrorists”, Swamy had called India for further strengthening of bilateral relations with the US.