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Amit Shah allays CAA fear, says Asaduddin Owaisi 'lying
Amit Shah today accused the Congress of appeasement politics over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
Hyderabad: Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday sought to allay fear about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), saying the law is not meant to snatch away any person's citizenship. Speaking in Hyderabad, Shah said AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge have been lying to the minorities that they would lose their citizenship because of the law.
"Owaisi, Kharge, Rahul Gandhi are lying that minorities will lose citizenship due to CAA," he said at a rally in Hyderabad.
"I assure there is no provision in CAA to snatch away anyone's citizenship," he added.
Amit Shah's remarks came a day after the Centre notified the rules of the law, paving the way for its implementation across the country.
"CAA will not take away citizenship of any Indian, but will grant it," he added.
Kharge and Owaisi had slammed CAA
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had questioned the timing of the Centre's move on Monday, saying it was "BJP's desperate attempt at divisive politics" just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
On Monday, Owaisi reacted angrily to the CAA rules, claiming the law would reduce Muslims to second-class citizens.
"You understand the chronology -- first election season will arrive then CAA rules will come. Our objections to CAA remain the same. CAA is divisive and based on Godse’s thought that wanted to reduce Muslims to second-class citizens," he wrote on X.
Amit Shah calls out appeasement politics of Congress
Amit Shah today accused the Congress of appeasement politics over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
"We had promised to bring CAA. Congress had opposed the CAA since Independence while our Constitution makers had promised that the refugees coming from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who faced persecution there, will be given citizenship. But for the sake of vote bank politics, Congress opposed it," he said in Secunderabad.
Also read: Explained: What is the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)?
"By granting citizenship to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs and others, Narendra Modi ji has honoured them," he added.
What is CAA?
The CAA makes it easier for non-Muslim refugees from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan -- who were persecuted on religious lines -- to get Indian citizenship.
West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments have declared that they will not implement the Act.
Also read: Shashi Tharoor lauds CAA principle, says 'would have welcomed' it if…
The CAA was passed by the parliament in December 2019. However, for several years, the government refrained from notifying the rules.
Last month, Shah had announced that the Citizenship Amendment Act would be implemented before the 2024 general elections.
With inputs from PTI, ANI
