Union Home Minister Amit Shah has stressed that the Citizenship Amendment Act will never be taken back and the Centre will not compromise on the sovereign right to ensure Indian citizenship in the country. Shah’s remarks came days after the government notified the rules of the CAA, in the fulfilment of its poll promise made in the 2019 Lok Sabha election manifesto.
In an interview to news agency ANI, the Home Minister said that it is impossible to repeal the law and that the government will spread awareness about it among the public.
Asked about the opposition INDIA bloc, specifically a Congress leader stating that they would repeal the law when they will come to power, the Home Minister said that even the opposition is aware it has bleak chances of coming to power.
"Even the INDI alliance knows that it will not come into power. CAA has been brought by the BJP party, and the Narendra Modi-led government has brought it. It is impossible to repeal it. We will spread awareness about it in the whole nation so that those who want to repeal it do not get a place," Shah said.
Amit Shah on “unconstitutional” charge
Dismissing the criticism that the "CAA is unconstitutional", the Home Minister said that the law does not violate the constitutional provisions.
"They always talk about Article 14. They forget that there are two clauses in that Article. This law does not violate Article 14. There is a clear, reasonable classification here. This is a law for those who, due to partition, remained in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh and were facing religious persecution and decided to come to India," the Union Minister said.
Responding to the Opposition’s allegation that the CAA has been notified keeping the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in view, Shah said that the notification of the law was delayed “due to COVID”.
“First of all I will talk about the timing. All opposition parties including Rahul Gandhi, Mamata or Kejriwal are indulging in jhooth ki rajneeti (politics of lies) so the question of timing does not arise. BJP has made it clear in its 2019 manifesto that it will bring CAA and provide Indian citizenship to refugees (from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan). BJP has a clear agenda and under that promise, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was passed in both houses of Parliament in 2019. It got delayed due to Covid. BJP had cleared its agenda well before the party got its mandate in the polls,” he said.
"Rules are now a formality. There is no question of timing, political gain or loss. Now, the Opposition wants to consolidate their vote bank by doing appeasement politics. I want to request them that they have been exposed. CAA is the law for the entire country and I have reiterated nearly 41 times in four years that it will become a reality," he said.
Amit Shah on political gain allegation
The Home Minister said that there is "no question of political gain as the main aim of the BJP is to provide rights and justice to persecuted minorities coming from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
"The opposition had even raised questions on surgical strike and the abrogation of Article 370 and linked it with political gain. So should we not take stern steps against terrorism? We have been saying since 1950 that we will withdraw Article 370" the Home Minister said.
"I have spoken on CAA at least 41 times on different platforms and spoken on it in detail that the minorities of the country need not be afraid because it has no provision to take back the rights of any citizen. The CAA aims to confer Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants--including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians--who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before December 31, 2014, and through this law, their sufferings can be ended" he added.
Shah slams Mamata, Owaisi
Amit Shah criticised AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over their allegation that the CAA was anti-Muslim.
"You cannot see this law in isolation. On August 15, 1947, our country was partitioned. Our country was partitioned into three parts; this is the background. Bharatiya Jan Sangh and BJP were always against the Partition. We never wanted that country to be partitioned based on religion," he said.
"So when the country was partitioned on the basis of religion, minorities faced persecution, they were being converted, women in the minority section were being tortured and came to India. They came to our refuge; don't they have a right to get our citizenship? Even Congress leaders during the partition in their speeches said that those minorities should stay wherever they are due to the widespread bloodshed and they will be welcomed later in our country. Now they started doing vote bank politics and due to appeasement," Shah added.
Mamata creating fear on CAA: Amit Shah
On West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's remark on CAA notification, Amit Shah said that she was creating fear.
"Mamata Banerjee, there are thousands of platforms to do politics, but please do not harm the Bengali Hindus who have come from Bangladesh. You are a Bengali too... I openly challenge her to show me one section of this law that takes away anyone's citizenship. She is creating fear... Mamata Banerjee should not stop us from doing this, she should stop infiltration in her state. Infiltration has completely stopped in Assam because BJP is in power there... "
"The day is not far, when BJP will come to power there (West Bengal) and will stop infiltration. If you (Mamata Banerjee) do this kind of politics and with such an important national security issue, you allow infiltration by doing appeasement politics and oppose the refugees from getting citizenship, then people will not be with you. Mamata Banerjee does not know the difference between a person taking refuge and an infiltrator..." he added.
Moral duty of government to ensure rights of persecuted: Amit Shah
The Home Minister said that it was the moral duty of the government to ensure the rights of those who were persecuted.
"The people who were part of Akhand Bharat and who were prosecuted or tortured those people should be given refuge in India and this is our social and Constitutional responsibility. Now if you look closely at the statistics, in Pakistan when the partition happened there were 23 per cent Hindus and Sikhs but now only 3.7 per cent of Hindus and Sikhs are left. where are they? They have not returned here. They were converted, tortured, and insulted they were given second-class status. Where will they go? Will the country will not think, Parliament will not think about them, and the political parties should not think about them?" the Home Minister said
"In Afghanistan, at the moment there are now only about 500 Hindus...don't these people have right to live as per their beliefs. When Bharat was one, they were our brothers," he added.
Rahul Gandhi should explain why CAA is against country: Amit Shah
Shah said that Rahul Gandhi should explain to the people why the CAA is against the country.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's statement on CAA, Union Home Minister Amit Shah says, "Rahul Gandhi should explain to the public why is CAA against the country just as we are explaining why it is in favour of the country..."
(With ANI inputs)
