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Congress behind CAA rumours, says Amit Shah at Shimla rally
Alleging that Congress was disrupting peace in the country through its propaganda, Shah challenged Rahul Gandhi to point out one provision in CAA for stripping minorities of citizenship
Even as nationwide protests continued over the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday accused the opposition Congress of spreading rumours and disrupting peace by misleading people.
Addressing a rally at Shimla to mark two years of the Jai Ram Thakur-led Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) government in Himachal Pradesh, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had ensured that CAA would not strip minorities of their citizenship.
“Congress and company are spreading rumours that it (CAA) will strip minority communities, Muslim brethren, of their citizenship,” Shah alleged. “I challenge Rahul Baba (Gandhi) to point out one (such) provision.”
Asking the Congress to stop the “propaganda”, he said, “if you have the facts then go to the public.”
The CAA was meant for grant of citizenship to minority communities coming to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, he reiterated.
Mentioning the Nehru-Liaquat Pact signed by India and Pakistan in 1950 to protect minority communities within their respective territories, the BJP national president, who wore a Himachali cap, said, “India implemented the treaty in letter and spirit as protection of minorities was a duty bestowed on us by the Constitution.”
In Pakistan and Bangladesh, however, the population of minority communities decreased to 3% and 7%, respectively, he added.Lakhs and crores of people, who had suffered years of repression, fled to India and took shelter here. It was PM Modi who took the courageous step to grant citizenship to these stateless people.
On article Article 370, Shah said he remembered as a 13-year-old raising the slogan, “Ek desh mein do vidhan, do pradhan nahi aur do nishan nahi chalenge (A country should not have two sets of laws, two leaders or two symbols).”
Praising PM Modi for scrapping Article 370 as a message to the world that Kashmir was an integral part of India, Shah said, “Today, Kashmir is a shining crown of our united country,”
This government also took historic steps for national security, Shah said, and when Pakistan backed terrorists carried out attacks in Uri and Pulwama, India replied by conducting surgical and air strikes deep within Pakistan territory.
“India is the third nation after the US and Israel that is capable of carrying out such military operations,” he said.
Striking an emotional chord with the audience, Shah said Modi shared a special attachment with the state and had lost no time in restoring the special status of HP with 90% assistance in the centrally sponsored scheme after becoming PM for the first time.
The Modi regime had ensured that Himachal had an All India Institute of Medical Sciences, three medical colleges, an Indian Institute of Management, NDRF Battalion, package under the UDAN scheme, a PGI Satellite Centre and 69 National Highways, Shah said.
He also lauded the public-oriented schemes launched by Jai Ram Thakur government including Janmanch, Grihini Suvidha Yojna and HimCare. A smoke free Himachal with every household having an LPG connection is also a very big achievement, he said.
