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India’s Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will never be taken back and the BJP-led government will never compromise with it.
“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 senior BJP leader said in an interview with a news agency.
The rules of the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, were notified earlier this week, sparking criticism from the opposition parties. Congress leader Pawan Khera last week asserted that the Act will be repealed if his party comes to power at the Centre. Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor made similar claims on Wednesday.
Asked about such statements, the home minister said that even the opposition is aware it has bleak chances of coming to power.
"Even INDI alliance knows that it will not come into power. CAA has been brought by the BJP, 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.
He scoffed at the opposition's allegations that the Bharatiya Janata Party is creating a new vote bank through the controversial law.
"The opposition has no other work. They have a history of saying one thing and doing another. However, the history of Prime Minister Modi and the BJP is different. What BJP or PM Modi says is like carved in stone. Every guarantee made by Modi is fulfilled," Shah said.
Refuting the charge that the BJP is using CAA for political gains, Shah pointed to the opposition's similar objections to crucial national security decisions.
"They even said that there was a political benefit in surgical strikes and air strikes. So, should we not take action against terrorism?" Shah questioned
On the concerns over the timing of the CAA notification, the minister said, “All opposition parties, including Rahul Gandhi, Mamata, or Kejriwal, are indulging in politics of lies, so the question of timing does not arise.”
Shah reiterated that the BJP had transparently articulated its intentions regarding the CAA well in advance. He pointed out that the party had outlined its commitment to bringing the CAA and providing Indian citizenship to refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan in its 2019 manifesto.
"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.
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