‘Rahul Gandhi should publicly explain his opposition to CAA’: Amit Shah

New Delhi:

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has dismissed criticism from former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his party over the Citizenship Amendment Bill, the rules of which were notified this week.

In an interview to ANI, the Union Minister asked the Congress leader to appear on a public platform and put forward his party’s stand on the issue.

“I request you to interview Rahul Gandhi in detail on this issue and explain to the public the reasons behind his opposition to CAA. In politics, it is your duty to defend your decision. If CAA is my government’s decision, I have to explain What is our party’s stance, what is the government’s decision and why is it good for the country. Likewise, Rahul Gandhi should also explain his opposition to this legislation.”

Earlier, senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha member Jairam Ramesh had questioned the timing of the promulgation of the Citizenship Amendment Act rules. Congress claimed it was a controversial law that violated the Constitution because citizenship was never based on religion.

In his reply, the Home Minister said that the opposition is only indulging in the politics of lies as the CAA was part of the BJP’s manifesto for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and was introduced in the Parliament in 2019.

“All opposition parties including Rahul Gandhi, Mamata or Kejriwal are indulging in ‘jhooth ki rajneeti’ (politics of lies) so there is no question of time. The BJP made it clear in its 2019 manifesto said it would make CAA available and provide India with citizenship to refugees (from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan). The BJP had a clear agenda and in line with this promise, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 It was passed by both Houses of Parliament. The bill was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The BJP had made its agenda clear long before the party got a mandate in the polls,” the Home Minister said.

“The rules are now a formality. There is no question of timing, political gains and losses. Now, the opposition parties want to consolidate their vote bank through appeasement politics. I want to demand them, they have been exposed. CAA is the law for the entire country and I have reiterated nearly 41 times in four years that this will become a reality,” he added.

The Home Minister said, “There is no question of political gain as the main objective of the BJP is to provide rights and justice to persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

“The opposition has even questioned the surgical strike and abrogation of Article 370 and linked it to political gains. So shouldn’t we take stringent measures to fight terrorism? We have been saying since 1950 that we will revoke Article 370 370,” the home minister said.

The CAA Rules, 2024, notified by the Home Ministry on March 11, will remove legal barriers to the rehabilitation and citizenship of such persons and will allow refugees who have suffered for decades to live a dignified life.

The CAA aims to provide Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim immigrants, including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians, who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan and Arrive in India before December 31, 2014.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)