Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday, January 3, said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will not 'go back an inch' to revoke the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), even if all the opposition parties unite against it.
Speaking at a pro-CAA rally in Jodhpur, Shah said that the party will work hard and reach out to the youth and minorities to make them understand that the CAA has not been introduced to snatch citizenship but to give citizenship to the religiously persecuted minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The rally was called to make people aware of the CAA and the NRC.
Attacks opposition
Taking a dig at former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Shah said that he should go to a corner check what the CAA means if he has not studied the law.
"CAA has been introduced to give citizenship to persecuted minorities from three nations," he said adding that he can translate it in the Italian language too if Rahul Gandhi doesn't understand this basic fact.
The Home Minister said that the youth is being misled by those who have become habitual of playing politics and started a false campaign against the CAA. "We decided to reach out to the people and make them aware of it," he said.
"After partition, Pak had 30 per cent minority which has been reduced to 3 per cent now, Bangladesh had 30 per cent minority, which today has reduced to 7 per cent. I want to ask Rahul baba and Mamata didi where did they go?"
Shah came down heavily on Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in Jodhpur, which is the CM's home turf for over the last 40 years, asking him to stop playing politics on the CAA and instead pay attention to infants dying in Kota as the bereaved mothers are cursing him.
He also asked Gehlot to stop bowing his head at the Delhi durbar and instead start looking into the state's affairs.
Shah claimed that the Congress government in its manifesto had announced granting citizenship to migrants from Pakistan, however, they could not do it because they were thinking of their vote bank and were busy playing politics for the same.
The Home Minister asked why was the country divided on a religious basis and who triggered the division of the nation? It was the Congress who divided the country on religious grounds, he said.
"After partition, Pak had 30 per cent minority which has been reduced to 3 per cent now, Bangladesh had 30 per cent minority, which today has reduced to 7 per cent. I want to ask Rahul baba and Mamata didi where did they go. Either they were murdered, converted or they have come here. I want to call human rights commission that these people who were crorepatis there have no money now, the females were raped there, converted via nikah, however, none of the human rights activists register their pain," said Shah.
"I want to ask Mamata didi and Mayawati where did human rights go when these minorities were being persecuted in neighbouring nations. No one ever thought of these migrants but the PM with his 56-inch chest came ahead promising that he will care for them," he said.
Shah said, "I want to ensure these migrants that goods days are here for them (acche din aa gaye hain) and they shall get their citizenship soon."
This country is as much theirs as it is ours, he said.
He also called on the people to give a missed call on 88662-88662 to share their support to Modi on the CAA and to give a befitting reply to the Mamata, Mayawati and Kejriwal grouping.
