Amit Shah plays hardball, says govt won’t budge on implementing Citizenship law
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RNA Monitoring Desk
Jammu, Jan. 03 : As protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act continue in various parts of the country, Union Home Minister Amit Shah dug in his heels, saying the government would not budge an inch on its decision to implement the legislation despite the Opposition criticism.
Launching an “awareness programme” in support of the amended citizenship law at a rally in Jodhpur, Shah accused the Congress and other opposition parties of running a misinformation campaign. “Even if all these parties come together, BJP will not move back even an inch on this issue of the Citizenship Amendment Act. You can spread as much misinformation as you want,” Amit Shah said.
Shah also said the CAA does not take away Indian citizenship from anyone but grants citizenship while accusing the Congress of playing vote-bank politics by spreading “misinformation”.
“No provision in the Citizenship Amendment Act to take anyone’s citizenship away, it is a law to grant citizenship. Minorities living honourably in India while their percentage declined in neighbouring countries,” the Home Minister said.
The Jodhpur rally by Shah is the first of 30 mega rallies planned by the BJP across the country to reach out to people on the new citizenship law, NRC and NPR. According to Jodhpur MP Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the city has around 25,000 refugees from Pakistan seeking citizenship under the new law.
Earlier on Thursday, the minister said the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was not on the agenda of the government yet. However, asked if it had been put in cold storage, he said he had never said that and added that the CAA should be discussed now. He also targeted the Opposition for spreading misinformation about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
“Pradhanmantri ne ye kaha hai ki abhi NRC nahi aa raha hai. Aur main bhi keh raha hun ki abhi NRC ki charcha nahi hai (The PM has only said that NRC is not coming as yet. I am also saying that there is no talk of NRC now),” Shah said during an interview to ABP News.
Hitting out at Congress and those protesting against the CAA, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said they should raise their voice against the atrocities committed by Pakistan against minorities.
“Anti-CAA protestors should raise their voice against Pakistan’s atrocities of the past,” he said. “Pakistan was formed on the basis of religion, religious minorities were being persecuted there. The persecuted were forced to come to India as refugees. But Congress and its allies don’t speak against Pakistan,” said the prime minister.Indian Express