BackAmit Shah seeks support on CAA, says Congress behind the protests
The CAA allows people from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan to seek Indian citizenshipShah’s attack against the Congress, along with other opposition parties, comes just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Congress for its 'misplaced' protest
PremiumNEW DELHI : Leading the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) outreach initiative, Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday turned up the heat against the opposition parties in the wake of ongoing protests in the country against the law.
Shah’s attack against the Congress, along with other opposition parties, comes just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Congress for its “misplaced" protest against the amended citizenship law.
“Congress party was afraid of losing their vote bank and didn’t have the courage to grant legitimacy to these refugees. They are spreading lies and misinformation. In 2019, when Modi came to power, he had the courage to uplift these people of minority communities who were mistreated in their countries," Amit Shah said at a pro-CAA rally in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur.
Shah attacked the Congress for opposing the legitimacy that the ruling BJP was granting to the refugees.
“Both houses of Parliament passed it (CAA) and I am telling all my refugee brothers that you will be Indian citizens. India is as much yours as ours. Their families were mistreated, their women were raped, their businesses were destroyed – and Congress says not to grant them citizenship," Shah added.
While Shah reiterated that CAA would not affect any Indian or any existing citizen of the country, he added, “The Narendra Modi government will not back down. I want to tell people like Mayawati, the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress who are agitating against CAA, that 70% of refugees are dalits. The dalit and adivasis of this country are watching how you are opposing their legitimacy."
Shah also took a dig at West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who has been conducting anti-CAA rallies in the state.
“I want to ask Mamata Banerjee, what have these people – the Bengali dalits and Hindus -- done to you? Why are you opposing their citizenship? I want to assure all refugees to not be afraid of her. She does not want what is good for you and she wants her vote bank. You will be granted citizenship," Shah told the crowd at Jodhpur, urging them to dial the BJP’s toll free number to extend their support for CAA.
Shah also added that from Sunday, the BJP would go door to door and explain the merits of CAA to the people. The party was also set to conduct 500 meetings and cover at least three crore people in its outreach initiative.
The BJP leader said the Congress was misleading the people “by saying we are discriminating on the basis of religion and Muslims of India will lose citizenship. This law is to grant citizenship and not take it away."
The Congress issued a scathing rebuttal on Friday to both Modi and Shah’s comments. “We don’t need certificates of patriotism from the RSS, BJP, Amit Shah or yourself (Modi)," senior Congress leader Sanjay Jha wrote on Twitter.
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, in an open letter to Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, said “As the leader of the state, I took my oath under the Constitution. I'm neither naive nor misguided & it's my duty to represent the voice of my people & Centre must pay heed to same. As the law minister, you'd know that #CAA fails the test of the Constitution."
At the same time, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has also written to 11 chief ministers across the country including Punjab, Rajasthan and Odisha, asking them to oppose the implementation of the amended citizenship law.
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