Surprising many viewers, Republic TV news anchor Arnab Goswami on his Wednesday night show appealed to the government of India not to ignore the concerns of the residents of the North-Eastern states over the Citizenship Amendment Bill.

“Politically, this has been a huge victory for the Narendra Modi government,” Goswami said during his show. “While a lot of you may be celebrating the passage of the Bill, we must not forget our brothers and sisters in the North-East...who are worried about being run over demographically for a second time,” he added.

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This was not the first time when Goswami has raised his voice against the Citizenship Amendment Bill. The (mostly ardent) champion of the BJP’s policies actually made a stronger statement against the Bill when it was passed by the cabinet of ministers on December 4.

The controversial Bill has led to violent protests across the North-East, especially in Assam and Tripura.

Goswami, an Assamese himself, said, “The BJP must understand that what is wrong is wrong...In Assam, we all know what the illegal infiltration of Bangladeshis has done to the state. It’s been swamped by Bangladeshis.”

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The news anchor accused the BJP of making “a bigger mistake” than the previous Congress governments by bringing in the Citizenship Amendment Bill. “The issue was always that of illegal infiltration of foreigners into the country. The issue was never what religion those foreigners follow,” he added.

Goswami also said that the BJP was indulging in “Nagpur appeasement” by trying to impress the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh with the Bill. “Let the Hindus from Pakistan or Bangladesh go to Malaysia, Jordan, or Vatican City – I couldn’t give a damn.”

You can watch the full show here:

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