New Delhi, January 24: Billionaire philanthropist George Soros, who condemned a slew of world leaders in his speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, reserved some of the most scathing remarks for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Specifically targeting him over the CAA-NRC row in India, Soros accused the Indian PM of targeting the country's Muslim population. Nobody Can Dare Touch Any Indian Muslim, Says India's Defence Minister on Apprehensions About CAA-NRC-NPR.

Soros launched his tirade against the Prime Minister while condemning the rising tide of nationalism across the globe. "Nationalism, far from being reversed, made further headway (in 2019)," Soros said, adding that India has been pushed to the brink with the re-election of Narendra Modi. The democratically-elected Indian PM wants to turn the nation into a "Hindu nationalist state", he alleged.

India has witnessed the "most frightening setback", Soros stressed, adding that the country has imposed punitive measures on Kashmir, the sole Muslim-dominated province. The region's semi-autonomous status was revoked in August last year, and a blanket communication blockade was imposed ever since. While phone lines have resumed, internet continues to remain snapped off in the Valley.

Soros described the citizenship project of the Modi government as dangerous, claiming that scores among the country's Muslim population - which forms the largest minority group - could be turned stateless. Modi is "threatening to deprive millions of Muslims of their citizenship", the philanthropist said, referring the proposed National Register of Citizenship (NRC) exercise which is expected to follow the implementation of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

The CAA, which was passed by the Indian Parliament in December, intends to provide citizenship to non-Muslim refugees who entered India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014. The law has sparked protests across the nation, as critics fear that it would be followed by a flawed implementation of the NRC in which Muslims would be deliberately targeted.

"During the NRC exercise, everyone would be asked to submit documents of their ancestors birth to prove their citizenship in India. Muslims, especially those who belong to the lower strata, may not have the documents of their forefathers. They will end up being excluded. If a non-Muslim fails to make in the list, he would be granted citizenship via CAA, but a Muslim would have to prove his citizenship before the Foreigners' Tribunal," explained Hyderabad lawmaker Asaduddin Owaisi in a public meeting.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 24, 2020 11:09 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).