Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will never be taken back, Home Minister Amit Shah said, adding that it is the BJP-led central government's "sovereign decision" to ensure Indian citizenship in the country.
"We will never compromise on it, " Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said in an interview with news agency ANI.
The Centre on Monday announced the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, a move that comes four years after the contentious law was passed and paves the way for citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
The CAA has faced criticism from a section of people who allege it 'targets Muslims', a charge rejected by the Centre.
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As CAA rules were notified days ahead of the expected announcement of the Lok Sabha elections, the Opposition has also termed BJP-led Centre's move as "vote bank politics".
Shah Slams Opposition
Home Minister Amit Shah, in the interview with ANI, said that the Opposition has no other work, adding that what Prime Minister Narendra Modi's says is cast in stone.
"The opposition has no other work, they even said that there was a political benefit in surgical strikes and air strikes, so should we not take action against terrorism? They also said that the abrogation of Article 370 was also for our political benefit. We have been saying since 1950 that we will remove Article 370," Amit Shah said.
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'Unki history hai jo bolte hai karte nahi hai, Modi ji ki history hai jo BJP ya PM Modi ne kaha woh patthar ki lakeer hai. Modi ki har guarantee poori hoti hai...," Amit Shah added.
On CAA-NRC Link
On implementation of CAA in Assam and the link between CAA and National Register Of Citizens (NRC), Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the NRC has nothing to do with the CAA.
"CAA will be implemented in Assam and other parts of the country. Only the states in the North East where two types of special rights have been granted, only those areas will not implement CAA," Amit Shah said.
This includes the areas where there is a provision for the Inner Line Permit (ILP) and the areas that are granted special status under the 6th Schedule of the Constitution, he added.
'Rahul Gandhi Must Clear Congress Stand On CAA'
Dismissing former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his party's criticism of the Citizenship Amendment Act, Amit Shah challenged the Congress scion to appear on a public platform and put forth the case of his party on the issue
"I request you to interview Rahul Gandhi about the issue in detail and explain his reason for opposing the CAA to the general public. In politics, it's your responsibility to justify your decisions. If the CAA is a decision by my government, I have to explain my party's position, the government's decision and why it is in favour of the nation. Similarly, Rahul Gandhi should explain his opposition to the legislation," Amit Shah said.
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Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh had questioned the timing of the promulgation of the rules of the Citizenship Amendment Act.
The Congress alleged that this was a controversial law because citizenship is never based on religion, it goes against the Constitution.
