Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) will be implemented before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The CAA, which became a law in December 2019, seeks to provide citizenship to persecuted refugees from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
Notably, it seeks to amend the Citizenship Act of 1955 to grant eligibility for Indian citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian illegal migrants from these countries.
Shah reiterated that the legislation aims to grant citizenship rather than take away anyone’s citizenship.
“CAA is an act of the country…It will be notified before the polls. There should be no confusion around it. Minorities in our country and especially our Muslim community, are being provoked…CAA cannot snatch away anyone’s citizenship because there is no provision in the Act. CAA is an act to provide citizenship to refugees who were persecuted in Bangladesh and Pakistan,” Shah said.
“Congress Has Reneged On Its Commitment To Implement CAA.”
Shah alleged that the previous Congress government had “reneged” (gone back) on the commitment to implement the CAA in the country. “CAA was a promise of the Congress government. When the country was divided and minorities were persecuted in those countries, the Congress had assured the refugees that they were welcome in India and would be provided Indian citizenship. However, now they are backtracking,” media sources quoted Shah as saying.
The implementation of the CAA has been a topic of controversy in the country and has sparked widespread protests in various parts. Amit Shah has reassured that the CAA cannot take away anyone’s citizenship, as there is no such provision within the Act. He emphasized that the CAA is intended to grant citizenship to those who have faced persecution in their home countries and make them legal citizens with all rights permitted to citizens of the land. The CAA is not designed to strip Indian citizenship from anyone.
Regarding preparation for the Lok Sabha 2024 elections, Amit Shah expressed confidence in the BJP’s and NDA’s prospects. He predicted a substantial victory and a third consecutive term under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
He was questioned about the possibility of parties like the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), led by Jayant Choudhary, and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) joining the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). In response, Home Minister Amit Shah stated that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) believes in family planning but not in politics.
Questioned specifically about the SAD, Amit Shah stated that discussions are going on, but nothing has been finalized. He stressed that the forthcoming 2024 elections would not be a contest between the NDA and the INDIA bloc, but about choosing between development in all spheres and empty sloganeering.
Ram Temple In Ayodhya Desired For The Past Five Centuries He Said
Regarding the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Shah remarked that for 500-550 years the people of the country had believed in full faith that the temple should be constructed at the place believed to be the birthplace of Lord Ram.
In response to Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, Shah claimed that Gandhi has no right to lead a march titled Bharat Jodo as his party was responsible for the country’s partition in 1947.
Bengali