New Delhi, India

Days after the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was notified by the Indian government, the country's Home Minister Amit Shah, said that the law will never be taken back and no compromise with it will be made by the BJP-led government. 

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“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,” said Shah in an interview with the news agency ANI.

After the controversial CAA was notified days back, the government faced a lot of criticism from the opposition parties. 

Reacting to the statements made by the INDIA bloc's leaders, the home minister stated that even the opposition knows that they have very little chance of coming to power.

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"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," the home minister said. 

Also Read: India fact-checks international media report on CAA, labels it ‘misleading’

He refuted the allegations of the opposition that a new vote bank is being created by the Bharatiya Janata Party through the controversial law.

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"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 the BJP or PM Modi say is like carved in stone. Every guarantee made by Modi is fulfilled," said Shah.

"The CAA aims to confer Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants--including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians--who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before December 31, 2014, and through this law, their sufferings can be ended," he added. 

BJP not using CAA for political gains: Amit Shah 

Shah refuted the opposition's charges that the BJP is using CAA for political gains. "They even said that there was a political benefit in surgical strikes and air strikes. So, should we not take action against terrorism?" Shah quizzed.

Speaking about the concerns raised regarding the timing of the CAA notification, Shah said, “All opposition parties, including Rahul Gandhi, Mamata, or Kejriwal, are indulging in politics of lies, so the question of timing does not arise.”

Watch: Gravitas: All you need to know about CAA; Indian govt clarifies on Citizenship law

He said that the BJP, in its 2019 manifesto, had clearly stated that they would bring the CAA and provide Indian citizenship to refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

"BJP 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," he said.

"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," Shah added.

Shah hits out at Kejriwal and Mamata

Speaking with ANI, Shah said, "The Delhi Chief Minister (Arvind Kejriwal) has lost his temper after his party's alleged corruption got exposed."

"He (Kejriwal) is unaware that all these people have already taken refuge in our country. They are living in India. Those who arrived in our country by 2014 will get citizenship," Shah added.

"And if he is concerned, why does he not talk about Bangladeshi infiltrators? Why does he not protest against Rohingyas? It is because they are doing vote-bank politics. He will face a very tough time during elections in Delhi which is why he is doing vote-bank politics. Are Rohingyas and Bangladeshi infiltrators not taking our jobs? He is just raising his voice against minorities of Jains, Buddhists, and Parsis," said the home minister.

This week, Kejriwal said that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will lead to more migration than what took place after independence. He added that law and order will collapse and it will subsequently lead to an increase in thefts, robberies, and rapes.

Speaking about Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who claimed that CAA will take away the citizenship of minorities, Shah said, "I am requesting Mamata ji, there are several platforms to do politics, but please don't harm Bengali Hindus coming from Bangladesh. I challenge her publicly to show one such clause that has the provision of taking away the citizenship of any Indian. Her intention is to create differences between Hindus and Muslims to consolidate vote bank." 

In December 2019, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was passed and it got the president's approval. 

However, the law had not come into effect as rules needed to be notified for its implementation. 

CAA, which was enacted on December 11, 2019, amended the Citizenship Act 1955 and paved a path for Indian Citizenship for the religious minorities - Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, or Christians - who lived in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan and came to India before the end of December 2014. 

(With inputs from agencies)