Amit Shah's "Open Challenge" To Mamata Banerjee Over Citizenship Law CAA

Union Home Minister Amit Shah questioned West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her strident opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act, the rules of which were notified on Monday.

The Trinamool Congress chief does not understand the difference between refugees and infiltrators, he said.

"I want to appeal to Mamata Banerjee. There are several forums for politics. Please don't oppose Bengali Hindus who came from Bangladesh. You yourself are a Bengali. I am giving her an open challenge and she must tell us which clause in this act is snatching away the citizenship of anyone. She is just creating fear and creating a division between Hindus and Muslims to consolidate the vote bank," he said.

"You are doing politics on an important issue of national security. People won't stand with you. She does not understand the difference between refugees and infiltrators," he added.

The Bengal Chief Minister said that she would not allow the CAA to be enforced in her state and asked people not to apply for citizenship. Calling it a gimmick, she said people will be labelled "illegal migrants" if they apply for citizenship and will be stripped of their rights.

Meanwhile, the Union Home Minister lashed out at Aam Aadmi Party chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for opposing the law that will provide citizenship to refugees.

Terming the government's decision as "very dangerous," Mr Kejriwal said that the CAA was not in favour of the country and claimed it would result in more and more migration from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. 

When such a large number of people will suddenly arrive, they will need a place to settle and it will likely lead to chaos and a collapse of law and order, he alleged, adding that crimes like theft, robberies and rape may rise in the county.

Responding to the allegations by the AAP convenor, the Home Minister said that if Mr Kejriwal is genuinely concerned about national security he should address the issue of Bangladeshi infiltrators.

"He 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," Mr Shah said.

"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 that 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," he said.

Amit Shah further claimed that Mr Kejriwal has no sympathy for those who came here after being persecuted in their countries.

"They have forgotten the background of the Partition. These refugees came here after leaving their property worth millions behind. Why won't we listen to their problems? They don't get jobs and education here. Why won't we express sympathy with them? It was not their decision to partition the country. It was the Congress which decided that and they promised them citizenship. Now they are backtracking on their promises," he said.

On March 11, the Union Home Ministry notified rules for the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), days ahead of the announcement of the Lok Sabha election schedule.

The CAA rules, introduced by the Narendra Modi government and passed by Parliament in 2019, aim to confer Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants - Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians - who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before December 31, 2014.