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‘CAA does not violate constitutional provisions’, Amit Shah on citizenship law
Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserts that the BJP government will not retract the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), accusing opposition of politicizing issues. The MHA announces a helpline for CAA applicants to provide information and assistance.
‘The Citizenship Amendment Act will never be taken back’, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that the BJP-led central government will never compromise with CAA. The remarks came after the Centre notified the rules for implementing the act.
Speaking to ANI, Amit Shah said, “This is our sovereign right to ensure Indian citizenship in our country, we will never compromise on it and CAA will never be taken back. The opposition is also aware that it has bleak chances of coming to power.”
“The opposition has no other work, they even said that there was a political benefit in surgical strikes and air strikes, so should we not take action against terrorism? They also said that the abrogation of Article 370 was also for our political benefit. We have been saying since 1950 that we will remove Article 370,” he said.
“Unki history hai jo bolte hai karte nahi hai, Modi ji ki history hai jo BJP ya PM Modi ne kaha woh patthar ki lakeer hai. Modi ki har guarantee poori hoti hai…” the minister told ANI.
Dismissing the criticism that the “CAA is unconstitutional”, Amit Shah said it does not violate the constitutional provisions. He also accused opposition parties including Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, and Rahul Gandhi of indulging in “politics of lies”.
“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,” Shah replied to the Opposition's claim of the timing of bringing notification of CAA before the Lok Sabha elections.
He further said the opposition parties only want to consolidate their vote bank by doing appeasement politics, while clarifying that CAA is the law for the entire country.
“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 minister added.
Seeking Indian citizenship under CAA?
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on March 13 stated that a helpline number would be available soon to assist applicants. The government, in an official tweet, said that CAA applicants can make free calls from anywhere in India and get information related to the new law, adding that the helpline will be available from 8 am to 8 pm.
An MHA spokesperson shared the information on X. “Helpline Number to assist applicants of Indian citizenship under #CAA -2019 is being started soon. Applicants can make free calls from anywhere in India & get info. related to CAA-2019. Helpline to be available from 8 am to 8 pm."
On March 11, the MHA notified the Citizenship Amendment Act's rules.
The law will pave the way for Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian, and Parsi refugees, who came to India before December 31, 2014, from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan to acquire Indian citizenship without having a valid passport of these countries or an Indian visa.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 was passed in Parliament in December 2019. The Lok Sabha passed the Bill on December 9 while the Rajya Sabha passed it on December 11.
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Business NewsNewsIndia‘CAA does not violate constitutional provisions’, Amit Shah on citizenship law
First Published:14 Mar 2024, 09:19 AM IST
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